The Beholder
by cousin D
Summary: Ash, Eiji, Shorter, Max, and Ibe-san leave New York to find answers about Banana Fish, but danger dogs their heels. Being hunted by the Syndicate was bad enough, but the danger only rose when it turned out that Ibe-san had an unwanted admirer who would stop at nothing to possess him.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: He was Perfect**

In New York City, Lottie Nesbin stood on the sidewalk just outside the apartment building where she lived with a cigarette in hand. She was twenty-six years old and had very pretty long, red curls that draped right to her shoulders. She kept herself in good shape and as well put together as she could. Her fingernails were painted a cheerful pink and her make-up was painstakingly done. Her clothes were fashionable and the jewelry she wore was tasteful if not exactly genuine. She was very proud of the way she looked, proud of job she held as a banker and the modest lifestyle she was able to afford in New York. However, she wasn't sure she wanted to be in New York any longer. She was bored with the city. She knew it too well. Lately, she yearned for something different, something exotic.

Lottie took a long drag from her cigarette and then let the strong-smelling smoke billow out of her mouth. It was a day like any other, perfectly ordinary. The late afternoon was cool and overcast. She was tired from a long day at work and would go inside soon to get some dinner ready. Dinner for one. She lived alone - no husband or children, no roommates or even close friends or family who might stop by.

"How much further, Max? Shorter needs to get cleaned up."

"I'm alright, Mister Ibe."

"Shorter, you have blood right down to your elbow. Damn it, you should be in the hospital." He paused for a minute. "You can just call me 'Ibe'."

Lottie turned at the unfamiliar voice and stared with a raised eyebrow at the group walking towards her. She saw HIM almost instantly. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him. He was… perfect.

A third voice said, "We're here, Shunichi. Don't panic. Head wounds always look terrible, but I'll take a look at him inside. We can rest up for a while before we go. Let's get the kids inside."

The perfect man wasn't alone, but came in the oddest of groups. It took Lottie a moment before she could look away from the exquisite creature walking towards her, but when she did she found a familiar face.

Max Lobo.

Max led the group, his face serious as a thundercloud. Lottie only knew Max by sight and had never spoken to him. He was a tall man, built solid and square. One could tell simply with a look that Max was strong, not like a body builder, but like a man accustomed to using his strength all his life. He might have been a farmer or mason. She didn't know anything about him other than he kept a tiny studio apartment on the top floor of the apartment building Lottie lived in. While he kept it and had kept it for several years, he'd rarely ever made an appearance at the apartment. To see him there, dripping wet, carrying a tall young man over one shoulder as if he were an old coat, was a shock.

It wasn't just Max who was soaked to the skin, all of his companions were wet. It hadn't rained in days and yet there were five people who all looked like they'd gone swimming in their clothes.

The person Max carried seemed to be a boy, but other than the fact that he was thin, tall, and blonde, Lottie couldn't see anything of him. Drunk so early? Sick?

The young man walking next to Max, tall and muscular with a white and orange shirt and a gray vest, was impossible to ignore. He wore sunglasses and had a pierced eyebrow. His hair had been shaved into a Mohawk and was dyed bright purple, like the crest of some tropical bird.

That colorful young man carried a boy - he couldn't have been more than sixteen years old – who, like the person Max carried, appeared to be asleep. He had shaggy black hair and was very short.

And then there was the last. He was an Asian, and looked close to Max's age, with a short brown beard and moustache. He wasn't particularly tall or strong, but there was something so striking about him that Lottie couldn't take her eyes off him. This one didn't carry anyone, but kept watching the others, as if he were desperately afraid for the people he was with. This man said to the purple-haired young man,

"Shorter, I can carry Ei-Chan the rest of the way. You were shot in the head, for goodness sakes! You're still bleeding. You shouldn't be lugging him around."

Shorter replied, "Honestly, Ibe, it's just a scratch. I've had worse injuries shaving and I can carry Eiji easier than you can. It's no big deal."

Shunichi Ibe. His name was Shunichi Ibe. Lottie felt something warm glow in her chest.

Max led his group up the stairs to the apartment building and didn't so much as look at her. She had the feeling that the young man with the purple hair might have looked at her from behind his sunglasses, but it was impossible to be certain. Shunichi glanced at her as he walked by and she knew, just from that one glance, that he understood. He knew she loved him and he felt the same way. She could see it in his eyes, those warm brown eyes. He said nothing, but that was alright. She forgave him. After all, he had his hands full and Max didn't seem like the sharpest knife in the drawer, so he was probably being no help with whatever crisis had happened. What relation did Shunichi have to all these people? The small, black-haired boy might have been his son or maybe nephew. That was likely it. The others… well, they might have been friends. They didn't matter. Shunichi was soft-hearted and worried for his son or nephew. Son, Lottie decided. The boy was definitely Shunichi's son. Shunichi didn't wear a ring. A divorcee? Widower? No matter.

They all filed into the building and Lottie was left alone on the sidewalk. She drifted lazily back into her apartment and, after closing the door behind her, sighed. A smile spread across her face. She knew this was it. He was the one. He would be hers. Forever.

Lottie found her best stationary, pristine white with a lavender envelope, and sat down at the kitchen table to write. Her stomach fluttered happily with nerves. How could she make him understand? What were the right words to describe her feelings?

_**I have seen you only once, but I know that you are perfection. Your eyes, your voice…. All magnificent. You must know that our hearts are destined to be together. When our eyes met, I knew that you could feel it, too. I knew you could feel our love. I will always be here. No one will ever stand between us.**_

She looked down at what she'd written and her smile broadened. She sealed the letter in an envelope and wrote on it, _**Shunichi Ibe, **_and hoped that she'd spelled it correctly.

She waited for a little while and then, as quietly as she could manage, she crept upstairs to where she knew Max's apartment was. At the door, she thought of knocking and handing the letter to Shunichi, but she was shy and ended up sliding the letter under the door. Shunichi would find it and he would understand. He would surely come to her, later.

**Ibe-**

Ash's assassinate attempt on 'Papa' Dino Golzine had failed and they'd all jumped into a river to escape Golzine's soldiers. Less than an hour later, they'd made their way to Max's hide-out, a small apartment in a completely ordinary neighborhood. Shunichi had never been so stressed in his life. Eiji looked awful and Ash was no better off. The poor kids needed sleep more than anything. Even Shorter, for all that he protested he was just fine and not to worry about him, was still bleeding. He insisted on helping by carrying Eiji. The bullet that had glanced off the side of his head was far too close for comfort.

'_Max better have some blankets in that apartment,'_ Shunichi thought, keeping an eye on Shorter to make sure he didn't get dizzy from blood loss. _'These kids need to be tucked in and put to bed. I'm sure Shorter's going to need stitches. What about food? They need to be fed. Teenagers are always hungry, right?'_

They passed some woman who reeked of cigarette smoke at the steps of the apartment, but Shunichi was far too concerned for the children to give her any thought.

In the apartment, Max had cans of beans, vegetables, peaches, and tuna fish. He also had a can opener. Shunichi offered up a prayer of thanks for tiny miracles. The syndicate might still kill them all, but at least they'd have full stomachs. Shorter put Eiji carefully down on a small cot and Max put Ash on an ancient looking sofa. There were a couple of blankets, thankfully. Max started to examine Shorter's head wound, washing it carefully and giving the boy the bad news that he would, indeed, need stitches and Shunichi made himself busy by opening cans of food as Max started sewing Shorter's head back together. The meal wouldn't be terribly appetizing, but it would be filling.

Later, after everyone had eaten and the younger people had taken advantage of a few quiet moments to sleep, Max told Shunichi that he was heading out for a little while, but they would leave as soon as he got back. "I need to find a way to get us out of the city," Max said. He looked at Eiji, still sleeping on the cot, and Ash asleep by the radiator as if he were trying to soak up as much of the warmth as he could. "Let them sleep, for now. It's been a long day. I'll be back soon."

Alone, Shunichi walked around the little apartment several times. He heard sirens now and again. He heard a gunshot once that nearly had him in a panic before he noticed that both Ash and Shorter had briefly woken. Ash looked out the window and shook his head at Shorter. Both fell back to sleep without a word to Shunichi. He'd walked around the room three times before he noticed a purple envelope on the floor. It had his name on it.

He opened the envelope, but could only stare at it in confusion. It wasn't Max's handwriting, certainly.

Shunichi didn't read English well. He could get by, but spoke it much better than he could read it. So he stared down at the letter for a long time, trying to figure out what it was supposed to say. At first, he hadn't thought it was English. The words were all written in twists and loops, the letters all joined together. It was just another way to write English, but it was harder for him who only knew how to read printing, like what was found in newspapers. He slowly puzzled out what it said or what he thought it said. He went over it three times before he could understand what he was reading. He blinked in confusion. Was it supposed to be a love letter? There was something distinctly creepy about it. He didn't like it. The letter wasn't signed. Who on Earth would leave such a thing? He didn't know anyone in New York but Max and a few of the cops. He didn't recognize the handwriting. Clearly, someone knew where he was and if they knew where he was then it was possible that Golzine's people knew. A sudden flare of panic made Shunichi look around at the children.

Ash had woken up and frowned up at him. "What's wrong?"

The letter felt heavy in Shunichi's hand. He really ought to tell someone about the letter, warn them that danger was near, but none of them needed the added worry. Max was already trying to be strong for everyone and the children didn't need any more stress on their plates. Poor Ash had the weight of the world on his skinny shoulders, already. Still, if the enemy knew where they were hiding…

Shunichi opened his mouth to tell Ash about the strange letter when Max suddenly walked back in.

Max went straight to the tiny kitchen area where he began to stuff cans of food into an old grocery bag. "Great news – I have a truck. Wake up, everyone! We're getting out of here."

Shorter woke quickly, rubbing his eyes and yawning. "Now?"

"Now. You three can keep sleeping in the back of the truck. I managed to get a bunch of blankets, too, so you can all use those. Let's go, then!"

Thankful that he wouldn't have to worry anyone about a letter that clearly didn't matter any longer, Shunichi stuffed it into his pocket. If they were leaving, then it didn't matter who knew where they were.

"Where did you get a truck so quickly?" Shunichi asked as he went to wake up Eiji.

Max looked shifty. "I know some people. Don't worry about it. Anyway, we need to get out of here and get to Cape Cod. Don't worry about taking much. There isn't anything important in here, anyway."

Other than the food and two hundred dollars that Max had stashed in an old coffee can, there was nothing else to take. Everyone's cell phones had been ruined by the escape into the river and Shorter had lost his wallet. Shunichi and Eiji each had about a hundred dollars they'd had for emergencies. Ash had a credit card they couldn't use as it could be used to track them. He looked at the card in disgust. "A shame I can't use it; this thing is pretty much unlimited. Dino always paid the bill on it, no questions asked."

Max scowled at the card in Ash's hand. "Well, he's not paying for you anymore. Throw it away."

Ash did as he was told without hesitation and he looked down at the card sitting in the garbage can with a look of satisfaction.

Once outside they all started to get into the truck. The truck really was an old beater. It was rusted in places with peeling paint and more than a few dents. The bed of the pick-up was covered by a large canvas tarp suspended over it by four large, metal arcs that gave the truck's bed a fair amount of shelter.

Shunichi closed the tailgate once Shorter, Eiji, and Ash were all safely in the back and started to walk to the passenger side of the truck when Max called out, "Hey, Shunichi? This fell out of your pocket. What is it?" He bent over and picked up the purple envelope with the letter inside that Shunichi had earlier found.

"It's nothing," Shunichi said. He was convinced that if they were leaving, it couldn't possibly do anything but worry his friends more. Better to ignore it. "Just something I found. Rubbish."

Max absently noticed a garbage can a few feet away on the sidewalk and tossed the letter in. Shunichi was glad to see it gone. They left quickly and were gone with a roar of the engine and a puff of black smoke from the tailpipe.

**Lottie-**

"Max… you bastard." Lottie seethed. She just happened to be looking out her window when Shunichi and the others had come out and headed for a run-down truck. She'd watched while Shunichi had dropped the letter she'd written to him and had watched Max pick it up and say something to Shunichi before he tossed it into a garbage can on the sidewalk. Max had thrown away her words that were for Shunichi. Shunichi had clearly been hurt by it, she could tell. She could see the pain in his eyes when Max had thrown the letter away. Slowly, Lottie realized what had happened. Max was forcing Shunichi to leave, to get away from her. He had probably even forced Shunichi to his apartment for some nefarious purpose and then he had taken him away. Taken him away from Lottie because he realized Shunichi was in love with her.

Furious, Lottie grabbed her car key and ran out of her apartment so quickly that she didn't even bother to lock the door behind her. She had to get to Shunichi to save him. She had to make Max pay.

**To be continued…**


	2. Shorter's Poor Head

**Chapter 2: Shorter's Poor Head**

**Shunichi-**

They left New York with no trouble at all. There wasn't even any traffic worth speaking of which, Shunichi was told, was almost a miracle. Max drove the entire way, despite Ash and Shorter offering to give him a rest. Every couple of hours they stopped to rest and fill the gas tank of the old truck. Old it might be, but the truck was reliable. They didn't have any trouble at all with it.

Night had set in by the time they were nearly halfway through Massachusetts and Shunichi was taking a turn riding in the back with Shorter and Eiji while Ash kept Max company. It wasn't a comfortable ride, but no one complained. After all, complaining wouldn't get them anywhere.

"Mom and dad are going to be worried sick," Eiji muttered at one point. He leaned against Shunichi and sighed. "I promised I'd call every now and again and I haven't called once since we got here."

Shorter, who sat on the opposite side of the truck, nodded. "I get you, man. I didn't even have time to tell my big sister where I was going. She's gonna smack me when I see her, again."

"No she won't." Eiji frowned at Shorter. "I met your sister and she's very nice. She'd never hit you."

It made Shorter laugh. He stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed his ankles. He put both hands behind his head and looked up at the canvas covering the truck bed. "Yeah. I guess you're right. Nadia's the gentlest person you could find. I don't think she's ever raised her voice in her whole life. Still, she'll worry."

Shunichi really didn't have a solution for that problem. None of them had a cell phone and Ash had warned that if they tried to contact anyone they knew, it might put everyone in danger. Shorter wouldn't risk it. So Shunichi leaned forward and patted Shorter on the foot. "Don't worry. I'm sure she knows that you're a smart, capable young man so she'll know you're fine."

A rosy blush rose up on Shorter's cheeks. Then he laughed and scratched the bridge of his nose. "Jeeze, you should say that kind of thing when Nadia's around. Better yet – say it around some sweet honey I wanna impress and make her think I'm a respectable sort. All the girls seem to think I'm some sort of hoodlum. Me? A hoodlum? And all because I stole one car. It was only a little one. And a couple cases of beer. And I might have put a tiny bit of graffiti on a…" and for the next hour Shorter regaled them with amusing stories of his less than entirely respectable exploits.

Before long, Eiji fell asleep against Shunichi's shoulder. Shorter was wide awake and, when he saw Shunichi yawn, he said, "You could sleep; I'll stay awake."

"You could sleep," Shunichi countered. "I'm older, so you should be the one to rest, first."

But Shorter shook his head. "Naw. I'm used to staying awake. Ash and I have this system, ya see. When times get tough, he sleeps when I'm awake and I sleep when he's asleep. We watch each other's back. So I can stay awake in case something happens while you sleep; it's no big deal."

That, in Shunichi's opinion, was incredibly sad. That they were so accustomed to being in danger that they had a working system for sleeping to keep each other safe. Rather than say what he really thought, which was sure to only make Shorter feel awkward, Shuichi said, "I think it's wonderful how you and Ash look out for each other."

Shorter shrugged, "Yeah, well, he's kinda like a little brother to me. A little brother and best friend all in one. He's one-of-a-kind, alright. I'm older than him, and bigger, so it's only right that I look out for him."

"I'm surprised he allows anyone to look out for him."

"Allows? Hell, I never asked permission. He needs looking after, I think. He's got a hot-head and enough pride to drown in. And for such as smart guy, he can be a real dummy. He gets himself into trouble with that God awful temper of his. He does reckless stuff. Even back in Juvie, Ash did stuff that made me wanna smack him. I'm kinda surprised that he didn't just run old Dino over with the truck instead of trying to shoot him. I couldn't talk him out of that, ya know. Honestly - standing on top of a truck while trying to shoot a moving target. Who does that?"

Shunichi couldn't agree more. Ash could be reckless, despite his obvious intelligence, and it was a lucky thing that he had a loyal friend to look out for him. That loyal friendship was a glowing example of Shorter's fine character, in Shunichi's opinion.

Shorter grinned. "I'll look out for Eiji, too. He's not that much different than Ash, really. They both get all emotional and don't stop to think before acting on it. 'Sides, they're both little shrimps so they need a big brother to look after them." His smile slipped a little. "My big sister looked after me when I was little and dumb, so I guess it's only right that I take care of people now that I'm big."

Big was an understatement. Shorter was only a bit older than Eiji, but he was taller than even Max. And while Ash might have been almost as tall as Max, he was skinny as a pencil. Eiji had muscle as he was an athlete and had never quite given up his work-outs, but he was small enough that he was often mistaken for a high-school kid. Shorter towered over just about everyone.

Eventually, as the night wore on, Max pulled over at a gas station and everyone got out, meeting at the back of the truck. Max handed Ash twenty dollars. "Fill it up, kid." He gave another ten dollars to Shorter. "Get us some food, will ya? I gotta hit the head."

Shunichi walked into the gas station with the boys and watched, amused, as Ash followed Shorter and Eiji around, added his two-cents to the discussion about what would be best to buy. The gas station sold a limited amount of food and Eiji and Shorter ended up picking out a bag of apples, several bottles of water, and a box of graham crackers. They paid and left while Ash went to the counter to pay for the gas. He chatted with one of the teenage clerks when he was asked why they were out so late at night and wove a story about a family road trip.

"Excuse me," Shunichi interrupted the story regretfully when Ash got the clerk laughing about something. "I'll meet you at the truck."

"Sure thing, uncle."

Shunichi had a warm feeling at that and smiled at Ash, though he knew it was all an act and Ash didn't mean it.

Shunichi paused at the door of the gas station when he noticed that Shorter and Eiji hadn't made it back to the truck but had met with a small group of teenagers. Immediately, Shunichi felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Something was wrong. Eiji looked worried, their bag of food on the ground between them, everything spilled onto the ground. Shorter stood between the three teenagers and Eiji, standing tall and with his shoulders thrown back. The effect was making him look even bigger than normal. The strangers looked ready to fight. A glance into the gas station showed Shunichi that Ash was still talking with the clerk, he could be in there for several minutes longer and that might just be too late.

Shunichi hurried over to the group and called out, "Boys, we need to go. Come on!"

Eiji looked thankfully at Shunichi for the interference and tugged on Shorter's arm to get him moving, too.

One of the strangers grabbed Shorter by the shoulder as he turned to leave. Shorter wrenched himself away instantly. The stranger said, "You don't walk away from me. That little twerp ran into me and you think I'm gonna just let him walk away from me?"

"It was an accident," Eiji protested. "I didn't see you. And you weren't hurt."

Shunichi was almost at them and hurried his step. "That's enough. There's no reason for all this…"

"Now look here," Shorter growled with his hands balled into fists at his sides. "He said it was an accident and it was an accident. Drop it. I tried to be nice and polite, but if you want to turn this into a fight, I'm happy to oblige. You'll fight me and you won't win. I've taken guys down three times your size, you pint-sized moron!"

"Think you're gonna scare me?"

"I think if you didn't have back up here you wouldn't even come in arms reach of me. Bring it on! I'll put you on the ground before you can blink!"

Shunichi gave up hope for a peace. "Now that's quite enough!" Shunichi raised his hands and stepped between them. He looked first at Shorter. "You get to the truck. Right now! As for you," he glared at the teenagers. "You get yourselves out of here and keep away from my kids!" Without another look at the strangers, Shunichi grabbed Shorter and Eiji by the elbows and led them away from the situation. A few steps away, he hissed, "Shorter Wong, you are much more sensible that than!"

"Hey, I didn't start it!"

"You can just walk away. Bullies like that aren't worth getting in a fight-" He broke off abruptly when Shorter let out a grunt and fell right on his face. It took Shunichi a moment to realize that Shorter's head was bleeding. There was a rock on the ground next to Shorter's head. Shunichi spun around and saw the three teenagers running away. "Ei-Chan, go get Ash!" Eiji ran away instantly.

They'd thrown a rock at Shorter. Those little beasts had actually thrown a rock nearly the size of a baseball at Shorter's head and knocked him out.

"Shorter, can you hear me?" He patted Shorter firmly on the shoulder, but got only a groan in response.

"Here, let me." Max arrived just before Eiji and Ash and he carefully rolled Shorter onto his back. He looked up only long enough to say, " Ash, buy something cold from the gas station. Doesn't matter what, just something cold." There was a lump on the side of Shorter's head where he'd been hit, it was about the size of a small apple and made Shunichi cringe. A cut right on the center of the lump bled freely. "Shorter! Wake up, kid!" Max lightly slapped Shorter's cheeks until his eyes fluttered open.

Shorter's eyes seemed alright, the pupils weren't too big or too small, but he put a shaky hand up to his hurt head and only stopped when Max caught the hand and put it back down at Shorter's side. Shorter whimpered. "Oh, God, my head… what…?"

"You got beaned with a rock," Ash told him. He'd returned with a can of frozen lemonade and handed it to Max who promptly put it on Shorter's swollen head. Ash looked all around, but there was no sign of the teenagers. Shunichi had no doubt at all that Ash was looking for those little delinquents. But while there were lights around the gas station, it was simply too dark to see beyond that. "And I think you've got a concussion. Your brain got rattled."

"The world's spinning. Jeezum cripes. A rock? My head? Why's everything so bright? Hurts." Shorter closed his eyes and started to curl up. His eyelashes got suspiciously wet and Shunichi realized with shock that Shorter was on the verge of tears. "Nadia? Where's Nadia?"

"She's not here," Ash told him. His voice softened with worry. "Remember? We're on the way to Cape Cod and she stayed at home."

"Oh." Shorter opened his eyes to look at Ash. "I forgot. I'm sorry. I forgot. You're such a good friend. You're my best buddy. If you didn't have so many issues I'd tell you that I love you to pieces, but you'd get all wigged out so I won't say it. Wigged out." Shorter giggled. "Figged out. Wigs and figs and… and… God, my head hurts."

Max helped Shorter to sit up and kept a hand on his back to steady him. "I don't like the look of this."

"I think he needs a hospital, Max." Shunichi patted Shorter on the back. "This isn't good."

"Should I go have one of the clerks call an ambulance?" Eiji asked.

"Aw," Shorter gave Eiji a weak smile. "You're so nice. You are just the fluffiest little bunny I ever saw. I don't need an ambulance. Just a little dizzy. I'm fine."

Max frowned. A deep line formed between his eyebrows. "Do you feel sick?"

"No. Just dizzy and a little fuzzy. I wanna sleep."

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three."

"Good. Well, I think it could be worse." Max kept the can of frozen lemonade pressed against the lump on Shorter's head. "I think we can let him rest a bit and see how he feels when he wakes up. If we do take him to a hospital, we'll need a cover story. If we walk in and give our real names we'll take the risk of having Golzine's people hear about it or even the cops." He gave Ash a sharp look. "You and I jumped bail, remember?"

"Yeah," Ash nodded. "And Dino will have the cops on his payroll out hunting for me."

"Right, so," Max looked at Shunichi. "You are going to be Shorter's dad. You don't have any ID because you got mugged. That's when Shorter got attacked. You act as desperate and worried as you can. They won't turn him away. We'll have to think of some fake names. He can't stay at the hospital, though. We get him looked at and make sure he's going to be alright and then we get out of dodge."

"I don't need a hospital." Shorter struggled to his feet and swayed for a minute. "I'm fine. I told you I'm good. I just need some sleep."

Ash stood close to Shorter and kept his hands partially raised, as if ready to catch Shorter at a moment's notice. It was a good idea as Shorter swayed, again, but didn't seem to notice. He pulled off his sunglasses and dropped them carelessly on the ground. Ash picked them up and tucked them in a pocket. "Look, let's get you to the truck. We don't have to go to a hospital, but you have to rest. Come on. You can walk, can't you?"

"Sure I can." After two wobbly steps, Max was forced to catch Shorter whose knees seemed to suddenly give way. Max put Shorter's arm over his shoulders and heaved him back up to his feet. "Ash, lend your arm."

With Max under one arm and Ash under the other, Shorter managed to make it back to the truck without any further mishaps. They put the tail gate down and Eiji crawled in first to make a fine bed for Shorter out of several coarse blankets that had come with the truck. Ash helped Shorter in and together he and Eiji made Shorter comfortable.

There was blood on Shorter's shirt – again. Shunichi couldn't help but notice it. Shorter had gotten shot just a few hours previously and now this had to happen. Shunichi had the suddenly ridiculous urge to wrap poor Shorter in bubble wrap until he could promise to stop getting hurt. It was as if fate had something against him.

"When everything is dealt with ," Ash muttered to Eiji. "I'm going to come back here and find those punks." His bright eyes narrowed. "I'm going to find them and make them pay."

"You will do nothing of the sort," Shunichi reprimanded. "They will be long gone, by then, and it won't do any good for Shorter if you did find them. I know you're worried, but Shorter will be fine. He's very strong."

Ash looked mutinous and it really didn't surprise Shunichi. Ash was a fighter and always had been. Considering the life he had led – and Shunichi feared that he only knew a fraction of the garbage Ash had survived – it was only to be expected that Ash intensely disliked anyone giving him orders of any kind. Most orders he'd been forced to follow had undoubtedly hurt him, after all. Still, Shunichi wasn't about to let Ash run towards trouble when he was already neck-deep in his current trouble.

To Shunichi's relief, Ash eventually nodded. "Alright. Fine, then. Have it your way." He untied the flannel shirt from around his waist and folded it up before he gently put it under Shorter's head as a pillow. When Shunichi took off his heavy green coat and draped it over Shorter, Ash looked surprised.

He was surprised to get such a small amount of help, just a touch of kindness. It was a painful realization and Shunichi prayed that one day Ash would accept kindness as a normal part of life.

Ash sat next to Shorter and crossed his legs, making it clear to everyone that he had no intention of moving anytime soon. He would be staying in the back with Shorter.

Shunichi rode with Max for about an hour before Max pulled over on the side of the road and went back to check on Shorter. Thankfully, the confusion and dizziness appeared to be lifting, so Max decided they could skip the hospital and they continued on their way to Cape Cod.

**Lottie-**

Lottie followed them all the way out of New York and into Massachusetts, right to the coast where Cape Cod sat. She'd lost them at one point. Max had been driving and he must have been noticed her and managed to slip away into the heavy traffic of a highway. When she'd realized she had no hope of catching up, she'd almost lost hope, almost mourned for her poor, dear Shunichi. But a stop of a gas station changed everything. It was a pure stroke of luck that very late one night she walked into that gas station when one of the cashiers was checking the security camera.

Both cashiers stood behind the service counter and stared up at a monitor suspended from the ceiling just behind the counter.

"I'm telling you – it was him."

"You're losing your mind." Another cashier, some pimple-faced kid who looked barely old enough to shave, shook his head at his co-worker. "What the Hell would a New York gangster be doing out here in the sticks?"

"How should I know? But I saw his picture on the news. He was arrested for killing some guy. I remember 'cause my mom kept saying how horrible it was the way kids were turning out these days. The reporters said he was a gang boss and he'd shot some guy that might have been part of the mafia."

"You've been watching too many movies."

"No. Seriously – look. Right there." The cashier paused the video recording and pointed at the black and white image on the monitor. "That's him. I'm sure of it. At least, I think it was him."

"Damn. Are you gonna think I'm weird if I say he's pretty?"

"Naw. Can't deny the truth."

Lottie stood there, her mouth hanging open at the wonderful coincidence. There stood the same blonde boy who'd been with Shunichi and Max when they'd left the apartment. Lottie really didn't see the appeal but he wasn't a bad looking kid. Tall and thin and blonde as a Golden Retriever, the boy on the monitor gave the cashier some money but kept talking with him for a few minutes. If he was there, then surely Shunichi would be… there! She nearly squealed when, on the monitor, she saw Shunichi walk up next to Ash. They spoke for a moment before Shunichi walked out of the building.

"Where did they go?"

Both of the teenage employees turned away from the security monitor and blinked, clearly shocked to find Lottie standing there. They'd been so engrossed in their conversation that they hadn't heard anyone come in.

She put the palms of both hands on the counter that separated them and leaned forward. "Tell me – where did they go? Did they say? Did they say anything?"

The first teenager, the one who'd been so certain of who he'd seen, rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't ask. It's not my business. They bought some food and filled up on gas for some old heap of a truck, but I don't think they said where they were going. They went east, though."

"Cape Cod." The second teenager said, abruptly. "Yeah, that's why I didn't see blondie. I was stocking shelves and I heard some Asian guy talking to this really cool guy with a Mohawk when they were looking for food and they mentioned going to Cape Cod. I think they were all together, anyway."

"That's right." The first boy spoke up. "I remember now, the blonde guy was asking about the fastest way to get to Cape Cod. He was real friendly."

Lottie slowly smiled. Cape Cod. Such a romantic, picturesque location. She'd never been to Cape Cod, but she'd seen photos. How lovely that she would find Shunichi in such a place. They'd be able to watch the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean together. And Cape Cod wasn't all that big. She'd find Shunichi there. She'd find him or find someone who'd seen him and knew where she could find him.

"Thank you very much."

One of the teenagers asked, "Excuse me, ma'am, but do you know who they are? Is that guy the one the cops said killed someone? It was all over the news."

"I have no idea." She didn't care, either. She had a suspicion that the blonde was some relation to Max, so he really didn't matter.

"Then, why are you looking for them?"

Lottie grinned and felt a burst of joy in her chest. "I'm looking for my boyfriend. Have a good night."

**To be continued…**


	3. Eiji's Quills

**Chapter 3: Eiji's Quills**

**Shunichi-**

When they arrived at Cape Cod, they went to a pawn shop. After the ugly scene at the diner with Ash's father, they had made themselves as comfortable as possible at the house where Ash had grown up with his big brother. Then, as everyone started to hunt around the house, Ash announced that he was going into town and that he was taking Shunichi with him.

Frankly, Shunichi guessed that Ash was uncomfortable in the house with so many memories and needed to get out for a little while. Understandable.

"We need some money," Ash told Shunichi when they were in the truck heading towards town. "Cold, hard cash is what we need and I can get us some." He pulled out a pocket watch from his jeans pocket and handed it to Shunichi. "It'll look weird if I try to sell it; I'm just a kid, after all. You do it. Just take whatever they'll give you."

"How much is it worth?"

"Enough. I don't really care. It was gift from Dino and I don't want it, but he always gave expensive presents. We need the money more than I need that thing."

They did need money as they'd spent a good deal of what they had on a few cheap burner phones that would let them access the internet as well as make emergency calls.

The pawn shop was surprisingly respectable. It was clean and orderly with a middle-aged woman who was just a bit chubby standing behind the counter. "Good afternoon. Welcome to Juliet's Pawn Shop. Looking for anything in particular? We've got electronics over to the left and a few antiques in the back. Jewelry, maybe?"

"Looking to sell, actually." Shunichi handed her the watch. "Can you give me anything?"

Ash stood next to Shunichi and watched, but didn't make any comments and when the woman behind the counter opened the watch to look inside, he wandered a few feet away and started to poke around at some of the things offered for sale.

The woman looked up at Shunichi with wide eyes. "You want to sell or pawn?"

"Sell."

She pursued her lips and looked back at the watch. "In the interest of honesty, I can't afford to give you what this is worth. This is gold and there are diamond chips decorating the face. There are some more upscale places in town you may want to try. I'm afraid I couldn't give you more than three hundred for it."

Shunichi chanced a look at Ash out of the corner of his eye and saw that Ash seemed entirely unconcerned with the quoted number. He also guessed that Ash simply wanted to be rid of anything that would remind him of Golzine. Well, Shunichi could help with that. So he smiled at the woman and said, "That's just fine. Thank you very much."

"Hey, uncle," Ash called out. He gave Shunichi one of those rare sweet smiles of his. "Can we get a camera, too?" He held up a small, digital camera. There was a price tag of twenty-five dollars on it. He recognized it as a decent brand and it would be good to have a camera, again.

"Sure you can that," the sales woman said. "I feel guilty enough taking this watch for so little money, so if you want the camera, it's yours."

Ash thanked her, softly, and handed the camera to Shunichi. "You like it, don't you, uncle? Who knows, we might come across something important we need to take a photo of."

Obviously, Ash's thoughts had run to the idea that they may need to take photos of something as evidence in the future when they found out the whole mystery behind Banana Fish. It was smart and one could expect nothing less from clever young Ash. Shunichi felt a warm glow in his chest when Ash called him 'uncle'. He'd felt that same glow when Ash had called him 'uncle' back at the gas station where Shorter had been so badly hurt. Of course, it meant nothing to Ash. He was play acting. A family traveling together wasn't suspicious, after all. Still, even if it didn't mean anything to Ash, Shunichi was rather flattered. How could one not be pleased to be chosen as an uncle, to be considered family?

**Lottie-**

Lottie made it to Cape Cod and didn't immediately find Shunichi. Of course it wouldn't be so simple as to find him strolling down the sidewalk. She drove up and down every street, carefully looking for the shabby truck she'd seen Max carry Shunichi away in. She looked not only on the streets, but parked in driveways and in parking lots and everywhere else. She didn't lose hope. She would find him and according to the clerks at the gas station she had only been a little behind them.

She stopped at little corner markets, at a clam shack, at three gas stations, and everywhere else she could think of that they might have stopped at. There were a great many little inns and bed and breakfast type places along with motels and hotels and Lottie stopped at every single one of them. No one had seen anyone fitting Shunichi's description or Max's.

It was nearly dinner time when Lottie saw the truck. It was distinctive. She hadn't seen another one like it all the time she'd been driving from New York and there it sat in the parking lot of a pawn shop. She slowed her car and saw just the moment when Shunichi and the blonde boy walked out and headed towards the truck.

Lottie pulled her car over as quickly as she could and looked over her shoulder at the truck. She watched it pull out of its parking spot and start down the street. She waited only a moment before she began to follow it. She kept to a distance and followed them to the outskirts of town where there were wide expanses of tall grass and, in the distance, the sea. They kept driving until there was hardly anything around but the road and the tall grass. She watched as the truck pulled further and further ahead and she saw it heading to a tiny, white house in the distance. If she went any further she would be discovered, surely, so she pulled into the dirt parking lot of a diner sadly in need of a paint job. From there, she could see the tiny, white house and she saw the trail of dust the truck kicked up as it drove. She saw the truck come to a stop outside the house and Shunichi got out. A smile spread across her face.

Finally.

She had him.

She had to decide what to do next. She knew where Shunichi was, but Max was undoubtedly with him and she couldn't fight Max. She was small and he was huge. She'd heard rumors that he'd been some sort of soldier and knew how to fight. She would have to think in order to save her Shunichi. He needed her. He couldn't live without her.

In the distance she could see the Atlantic Ocean and, to the left, a tall lighthouse keeping watch on the shore. Cape Cod was beautiful and just as romantic as Lottie had imagined it. The sunset painted the sky red and orange, the colors reflected off the sea.

Lottie stepped out of her little car and went into the diner. Her thoughts were almost entirely consumed with Shunichi and how close he was. She could practically hear his voice. With a dreamy smile, she sat at an empty table, completely willing to bide her time as she knew where he was.

"Good morning. What can I get you?" The waitress was a mousy little thing with dull brown hair and a tired expression that was entirely inappropriate for a service position. Her employer ought to reprimand her. She had wrinkles around her eyes and at the corners of her mouth and wore drab clothes that were too big and completed the image of a frumpy housewife.

Lottie forced a smile. "Ham sandwich, please."

The woman nodded and walked off into the kitchen.

Lottie was the only customer and the diner was quiet as a grave. She tapped her fingers on the table, trying to think of what to do next.

"Woman!" The shout caught Lottie's attention before the man walked in. He was tall and very broad with a thick beard and moustache. He wasn't at all as refined as her dearest Shunichi, but not every man could be perfect. The man didn't so much as look at Lottie as he walked in and shouted, again, "Jennifer, where are you?"

"In the kitchen, Jim." The woman, even when calling out, was so soft spoken that she might as well have been whispering.

"Has the boy been by?"

The waitress, Jennifer, came out of the kitchen and gave Lottie the sandwich with a little smile before she went to the man and said, "Please, Jim, not so loud. We have a customer. No, Ash hasn't been by yet."

"His name is Aslan, damn it. His mother gave him that name."

"If she was so concerned about it, she should have stayed around long enough to teach him his name. Besides, he prefers 'Ash' and I think he's old enough to decide what he wants to be called. His friend, Max, said he'd stop by later and get some dinner for all of them."

Lottie froze with her sandwich halfway to her mouth. Max. She took a bite of the sandwich but watched Jim and Jennifer out of the corner of her eye on the off chance that they might say more.

"Well, keep them all out of my hair, woman," Jim snapped, stomping into the back room.

Jennifer said nothing, but sighed and went back into the kitchen.

There was a television sitting on the counter, an old-fashioned type that was a large box with dials on the front and rabbit ear antennas. The news had been turned on and the news anchor said,

"And in breaking news, we have an Amber Alert out for a seventeen-year-old Caucasian boy, Ash Lynx. He's five-foot ten-inches tall and weighs approximately one hundred twenty pounds. He has blonde hair and green eyes.

Ash Lynx is a homeless child and a suspected gang member, but has recently come to the attention of the renowned philanthropist, Dino Golzine, who is well-known for his charitable donations and works benefiting the disadvantaged youth of New York. Mister Golzine took an interest in Ash Lynx when they met by chance and has since been offering the boy mentorship and has been attempting to get him off the streets and into a safe situation. Mister Golzine became gravely concerned when Ash didn't turn up at a meeting they had planned to discuss him sending Ash back to school. That same day a savage attack on Mister Golzine was committed when a truck driven by persons unknown barreled through the city streets and nearly ran down several people. Someone shot and wounded Mister Golzine and several of his friends. We now have a few words from Mister Golzine's legal counsel."

The news reporter paused and the image on screen changed to that of a man with a moustache and curly brown hair. Below him, the words scrolled across the bottom of the screen, LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE OF DINO GOLZINE. He said, "Mister Golzine would like to express his deep desire to have Mister Lynx returned safely. He fears that the same people who attacked him may have something to do with Mister Lynx's disappearance; perhaps someone saw them together and thought they might be able to ransom Mister Lynx. Mister Golzine is offering a ten thousand dollar reward for anyone with information about Mister Lynx's whereabouts. If he has been kidnapped and his abductors are listening, please know that Mister Golzine is willing to listen to ransom demands. Please, if you have any information call the number listed below." A telephone number appeared on the screen and Lottie took note of it.

The lawyer's face was replaced with that of a man somewhere between fifty and sixty-years-old with a completely bald head and a well-trimmed moustache. Under him, the name DINO GOLZINE appeared. He spoke with a steady, deep voice. "My only concern is for the boy's welfare. If this was an abduction, call the number provided and we will listen seriously to whatever you have to say. However, if Ash has run away on his own accord, I hope he's listening now." Mister Golzine leaned forward, as if to convey his heartfelt emotions directly to the boy. "Ash, whatever has happened, we can deal with it. I'm not angry with you. You know I'll always be here. Come back to me and all the problems you face will be dealt with. I just want you back where you belong."

The news reporter's image reappeared on screen and she said, "Such an emotional plea from this kind-hearted man! We can only hope that the boy will return safe and sound. This is a photograph of Ash Lynx and we ask that the public take notice and report any sighting of him at once."

The photograph that was shown made Lottie sit up and take notice. It was him! It was the boy who'd been with Shunichi and Max. Thin and fair with fine features. Ash Lynx was dressed casually, jeans and a white t-shirt, like so many other teenage boys. He stared at the camera with a serious expression.

Lottie thought, _'They can come and they'll take the boy and Max. Max must have kidnapped the boy along with Shunichi. With Max gone, I can have Shunichi.'_

Lottie left payment for her dinner on the table with a generous tip before she walked outside. Standing next to her car, she pulled out her phone and dialed. "Hello? I have some information about the missing boy, Ash Lynx." She gave them all the information she had, answered every question she was able to, and felt very pleased with herself. When she hung up her phone, she lit a cigarette and looked at the little, white house where her Shunichi was staying. She decided to take a quiet walk up there. She wouldn't confront anyone, but she'd just take a peek in the window. Just to make sure Shunichi was alright.

**Shunichi-**

Eiji had been restless and it worried Shunichi. He watched all day as Eiji prowled around the home Ash had grown up in, poking in closets and looking in every little nook and cranny he could find. Ash hadn't protested and didn't seem to care about the house at all except for a small photograph of a boy in a baseball uniform while a young man knelt next to him. Both smile proudly at the camera. Ash didn't speak about it and everyone was tactful enough not to ask, but it seemed clear as crystal that it was a very young Ash – no more than six – and his big brother. How lovely to see Ash smile so freely.

"Ibe-san," Eiji came into the living room wearing a pair of shorts that were just a bit too big, the drawstring on the waist was pulled very tight. "I'm going out running for a bit."

"Where did you get the shorts?"

"Ash said we could use any clothes we find so I borrowed these." Then he frowned. "They must have been his brother's. Do you think it's really okay? I don't want to upset him."

Shunichi didn't bother to hide his smile. How like Eiji to be worried about other people's feelings. "I think Ash is a very generous, honest boy and if he said it was alright, then it's alright. If you're going running, please don't go far. We don't know the area or what danger's around."

"I'm only going to run around the house. I just feel… soft, lately." He grimaced and looked around as if he were afraid of being overheard. "I haven't exercised in ages, considering everything that's going on, and since I can't be as strong as Shorter or as smart as Ash, I want to make sure I'm fast enough to keep up with them." He put on a determined face. "I need to practice and get my speed back up to competition level." It made sense. Eiji was very fast. As a pole vaulter, Eiji had competed with the best in the world and part of his training had been running.

Eiji left and Shunichi was alone in the quiet living room. Everyone was around doing something. He was fairly certain Ash was napping in some sunny nook and Shorter and Max were probably getting dinner from Jennifer. That left little for Shunichi to do, so he leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes, ready to follow Ash's example and take a nap.

A scream of pain broke the air and Shunichi jumped to his feet. He was out the door and circling the house before he realized what was happening. There Eiji was, at the back of the house, on the ground and half-concealed by the overgrown grass. His face was twisted in pain. For one terrible, horrible moment, Shunichi feared that Eiji had reinjured his ankle. But when he got to Eiji and saw what had happened, his breath caught in his throat.

"Oh… Eiji…"

"It hurts!" He had his leg stretched out and his face was pale, but his whole body was tense, as if he was terrified of moving. Considering the state of his leg, Shunichi didn't blame him. "Be careful! I stepped on something and it might still be around!"

At just that moment, Shorter and Max came barreling around the corner. They had obviously just returned and had heard Eiji scream. As soon as he saw what had happened to Eiji, Max handed bags of what must have been food to Shorter and told him, "Go wake Ash." He went right to Eiji and bent down to examine the damage. "Damn, kid… you really got it, didn't you?"

From Eiji's ankle to his knee, thick quills were impaled in his leg. It looked like he'd been turned into a pin cushion. Eiji curled up as best as he could without moving his leg. "I stepped on something and it attacked me!"

"Yeah," Ash was with them and looked over Max's shoulder with Shorter at his side. "You stepped on a porcupine and I think you upset it. God. That looks awful." His face was pale, but he kept his voice steady and his expression still. As always, he was in complete control of himself in an emergency.

Max put an arm around Eiji's back, then started to put an arm under his legs.

Eiji squawked. "Hey! I don't need to be carried!"

Max gave him a stern look. "You'd have to walk around the house and up about eight steps to get into the house. You really want to move your leg that much?"

Eiji looked like he might cry, but stopped arguing. Max picked him up with ease, moving as carefully as possible. Not for the first time, Shunichi wished he was as strong as his friend. Max could have carried even Shorter without breaking a sweat. "Right then. Ash, we need some kind of pain killer. Any drugstores in the area?"

"No, but I'll go over to the diner. Jennifer will give me something." Ash ran off without another word.

"Shorter," Max continued. "Look for some soap and get a water bottle out of the truck so we can wash him up when we're done." Once Shorter had gone to do as he was told, Max gave Eiji a pitying look. "Sorry, kid, but these are going to have to come out and it's going to hurt. Let's get you ready."

Inside, Shunichi laid a blanket on the floor along with several towels to put under Eiji's leg in case the blood ran freely.

Eiji made little, pained noises with every step that Max took, no matter how cautious Max tried to be. He didn't cry, though. He kept one arm around Max's shoulder and didn't complain or fuss even when Max had to put him on the floor so they could deal with the porcupine quills. Eiji held himself stiffly and his eyes were shiny with threatening tears. Max gently rolled Eiji onto his side to take as much pressure off the wounded leg as possible and to give himself better access to the quills.

"I didn't think there would be anything dangerous out there," Eiji said though gritted teeth. "I'm sorry. Sorry. Didn't mean to cause trouble, Max."

Max chuckled. "Nothing to be sorry about. From what Ash said, no one's lived here in about ten years so the wildlife has started to move back in. All that tall grass must have hid the porcupine very nicely. Look on the bright side – you might have stepped on a skunk."

They waited patiently until Ash returned and, when he did, he brought more than a painkiller. He carried a bag with clean towels, extra water, antiseptic soap, and every kind of bandage one could hope for including sterile gauze pads and a roll of elastic bandage. "Jennifer said we'd need these things and to make sure we get him to the hospital if anything looks really bad." He sat on the floor next to Eiji, close but not touching. He set all his things on the floor and carefully unpacked them before he pulled out an unmarked bottle and uncorked it. "Eiji, take a drink."

Eiji took the bottle from Ash and sniffed it, but recoiled. "What is it? It smells awful." His hands were shaking enough that Ash put his hands around Eiji's to hold the bottle steady.

"Something to make you feel better. Drink."

Eiji took a sip, then spit it out. "It's alcohol!"

Ash rolled his eyes. "My father had some stuff and Jennifer said I could take it for you. It's strong stuff – my father makes it himself. He said the stuff sold in stores isn't strong enough. Drink it and you won't care about the porcupine quills."

"But…" Eiji sulked at the bottle. "I don't like alcohol."

Max gave him a firm look. "Normally, I don't approve of underage drinking, but we haven't any other painkillers and I think you'll want to be a little loopy when I have to pull all these out. Boy, you have dozens of quills poking out of you. God help us if any of them break off under the skin; I might have to go digging for them with a sharp knife and I don't like the idea of doing surgery."

With a pat on Eiji's shoulder, Shunichi gently told him, "Max is right, Ei-chan. Drink. I know you don't like the taste, but I think being at least a little tipsy might be good in this one instance. Even if you get roaring drunk, we're all here to look after you and we won't let anything bad happen."

So, Eiji drank. He made faces at each tiny, little sip he took and moaned about the taste, but he kept drinking until he couldn't hold the bottle. Unfortunately, he didn't pass out as Shunichi had hoped.

"I don't feel good." Eiji lay his head down on Shunichi's lap and closed his eyes. "I don't like this. The nasty prickly-pine stabbed me with his needles and he's mean!"

Shunichi had never seen Eiji drunk and it was an experience.

Max wasn't prepared to wait any longer. "Right, then. Shorter, I'm going to need you to hold Eiji's leg still. He's going to wiggle and twitch. In the state he's in, he might not feel so much pain, but he won't have much control to keep himself still. Ash, you're going to hold his hip down. We'll get this done as soon as possible."

"Do you know what you're doing?" Shunichi whispered to Max.

"No clue, but we can leave them in."

Eiji blinked up at Max. "What are we getting done?"

"Don't worry. You put your head down and I'll be right back." Max went out to the truck and returned a moment later with a pair of pliers.

Ash winced. "This isn't going to be fun."

Ash, of course, was right.

With a steady grip and a grim expression, Max used the pliers to grab hold of the first quill. He pulled quickly and Eiji let out a choked scream. On and on it went. Shorter and Ash did an admirable job keeping Eiji steady and Shunichi held both of his hands, but each quill that was pulled out was terrible. Eiji still tried to thrash about, his strong legs fighting against Shorter and Ash. Eventually, Eiji seemed to lose his strength. He still tried to kick, but mostly he made pitiful little noises and kept his face buried in Shunichi's lap.

"There, the last one." Max set the last quill down on the awful pile of quills at his side. "Forty-one quills. Eiji, my lad, this is going to be something to remember."

With a pitiful sniffle, Eiji turned his head enough to look at Max. He glowered. "I don't like you. Mean." Then he looked up at Shunichi. His bottom lip wobbled. "Done?"

"Yes, the quills are all out, Ei-chan. We just need to get you washed up and bandaged." And that was important. His leg looked horrible. "Just hold still a little longer. Can I help Max fix your leg?"

Eiji nodded, then reached out both hands, one to Ash and one to Shorter. They were happy to abandon their duty of pinning Eiji in place to give a little comfort. They were an excellent distraction. Max wiped Eiji's leg down with soapy water and then with the antiseptic Jennifer had sent over. Shunichi used a clean, dry towel to dry Eiji's leg. When the leg seemed to be as clean as it could be, they carefully wrapped Eiji's leg in bandages. All the while, Ash and Shorter kept Eiji nicely preoccupied. Shorter told silly stories and Ash made fun of Shorter, both of which made Eiji smile.

When all was done, they lifted Eiji off the floor and helped him lie on the couch and covered him with a blanket. Blinking sleepily, Eiji looked up at Max who tucked a pillow under his head. "Sorry, Max. I do like you. You're my friend."

Max shook his head and smiled. "I know you do, kid. Don't worry about it. Try to sleep."

"I think you're really great 'cause you take care of Ash and he's really hard to take care of." Eiji hesitated. "All done now?"

"Yeah."

"No more nasty pricky-pines?"

"No more porcupines."

"No more pulling and washing and band aids?"

"No more anything. You just need to sleep."

Eiji took a deep breath then promptly burst into tears. He hadn't cried once since the whole ordeal had begun, but it seemed he couldn't hold it in any longer. He sobbed messily and noisily without any care at all to who might hear. He put his hands over his face to hide himself then took another breath and sobbed, again.

Poor Ash didn't look like he had any idea what was going on and Shorter scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Max just chuckled. "Poor kid. He'll be fine when he sobers up." He ruffled Eiji's hair.

Within minutes, Eiji had fallen fast asleep and snored noisily.

The stress began to fade with Eiji calm and safe. Ash stayed close by his side and Shorter only went a little further away. Max worked at cleaning up the mess while Shunichi took the bundle of dreadful quills outside to dump somewhere that no one would step on them. The minute he stepped outside, he froze. Shunichi sniffed the air.

Cigarette smoke.

He sniffed, again. The smell was faint. None of them were smokers. Maybe Ash's father had come over and heard all the noise and decided to leave. Maybe. Whoever it had been, had been right at the front door of the house, apparently. They'd been busy enough with Eiji to give whoever it had been plenty of time to get away. He was certain that none of the youngsters smoked, he would surely have smelled it on them. Max had given up the habit several years earlier. He looked carefully around, but there was no one in sight. No danger at all. So, he tried to push the worry aside and disposed of the quills.

Still…

Back inside, Shunichi asked, "Has anyone else been around the house?"

Shorter sat up from where he reclined in a chair at once. "Why? What's wrong?"

"I thought I smelled cigarette smoke outside, but… maybe I was wrong."

Ash was on his feet with his pistol in hand in a flash and Shorter had his knife out before Shunichi could blink. They both went to the front door and peered out. Cautiously, Ash stepped outside and was followed by Shorter. They both inhaled deeply.

"That's cigarette smoke, alright," Shorter said. He looked over his shoulder at Shunichi. "Go get Max." Then he and Ash crept out into the yard and began a slow patrol around the house.

Shunichi nearly yelled for them to look out for porcupines, but he was fairly certain neither of them would appreciate it, given the circumstances. Max waited with Shunichi and Eiji for nearly twenty minutes before Shorter and Ash returned.

"No sign of anyone around that I can see," Shorter told them. "We'll just keep an eye out for now. It's weird, though. Something about the smell puts me on edge. I don't know why, but something about it makes me think of something and I can't get a hold of exactly what I'm trying to think of."

Several days later, the relative peace of Cape Cod was shattered when Golzine's men turned up. Jennifer was murdered and Ash's dad terribly wounded. It was likely, Shunichi knew, that Ash would never voluntarily return to his childhood home. He was far too kind-hearted to put people he cared for at unnecessary risk.

"How did they know we'd come here?" Ash later asked. They had stopped at yet another gas station for food and gas and a bathroom break. The rest of them stayed outside while Max paid for things inside.

"I think I know the answer to that." Max was suddenly back with them. He grabbed Ash by the arm and began hauling him into the truck. "Get in, quick. Now!"

Ash, for once, did as he was told. Everyone, in fact, climbed in the back of the truck with him. Max was the last and he only sat on the tailgate. He pulled out one of the cheap telephones they'd bought and used it to get onto the internet where he pulled up a news story and handed it to Ash. "That story was on the television in the gas station."

Everyone crowded around to look over Ash's shoulder. Dino Golzine had an Amber Alert out on Ash and made it sound as if he were a concerned, well-meaning adult trying to look out for the best interests of a troubled child. Ash watched the story in silence and when Golzine appeared on screen, asking that Ash return to him, Ash actually turned pale for a moment. He handed the cell phone back to Max and looked at him with deep furrows in his brow. "I think I'm gonna be sick. That's how everyone sees him. They think he's this nice guy trying to help kids. They call him a humanitarian and a philanthropist. God, if they knew what he was really like…"

"Well, we do." Max put the phone in his pocket. "Someone must have seen you around town and alerted Golzine and that's how his men found us. We have to get moving before anyone else comes looking. Sorry, kid, but you're going to have to stay well out of sight for a while. Everyone get comfy. We're headed to California and that's a long ride."

**To be continued…**


	4. Confrontation

**Chapter 4: Confrontation**

**Shunichi-**

They drove and kept to the back roads, avoiding all highways. Shunichi sat in the passenger seat while Max drove. All was quiet. The night was cool and the roads empty. They hadn't seen more than three cars in the past hour. It was nearly midnight, but Shunichi was under no illusion that anyone in the truck was asleep. Max glared at the road ahead and Shunichi didn't want to set Max off while driving, so he didn't dare try to speak to him. Better to let Max mull over whatever was in his head.

"Evil bastards," Max grumbled, finally. "There was no reason to kill her. She wasn't a threat to anyone. They just… she…" he suddenly hit the steering wheel with his hand and cursed loudly.

"Max, you need to calm down. The kids will hear you."

"I'm pretty sure they all know worse words than I do."

That wasn't what Shunichi was worried about and he was fairly certain Max knew that. The kids would be on edge as it was, they didn't need to hear Max shouting. Ash was highly strung at the best of times and Shorter still had a headache from his concussion. Eiji was dealing with all the danger admirably, but it was all so new to him. None of them needed to think that Max or Shunichi were panicking. "Let's think a bit. Ash's stepmother is dead, but we have to be calm. He will need us to be strong. I could tell he loved her very much. Now, somehow Golzine's people found us. I thought we'd been very careful, but they still found us. If we accept that it was that news report with Ash's photograph that grabbed someone's attention then Golzine's people probably also know what the truck looks like and the license plate number."

"That's why we're staying off the highways. The police didn't show up so I'd guess that the number on the television was a number that went straight to Golzine's people. That's good news for us. Maybe Golzine doesn't really want the police involved. Even if he has some of them on the payroll, having them rescue a missing kid would bring up all kinds of questions that I don't think Golzine would want to answer. Still, he's taken a huge risk by involving the police in the first place. Most cops are good people and wouldn't take bribes; they'll want to do what's best for Ash. He must be feeling very confidant that Ash won't talk if the cops find him."

"Does that surprise you? Ash doesn't have a lot of experience with trustworthy adults, why should he think police officers would be any different than all the other adults who've failed him? Considering what Ash's father told us about what happened when Ash was seven he has very little reason to trust the police. You're right, though. It is a big risk; I'm surprised Golzine did it. Even if he's certain Ash wouldn't talk to the police, he doesn't know that about the rest of us."

"And that means," Max said with a low grumble in his voice. "That we are all expendable and we're all likely to have unfortunate accidents if we get caught. So he's confident enough to involve the cops and turn up the heat on us, but he's cautious enough to want any tips to go to him rather than the actual police." Max tapped the steering wheel with his thumbs. "After we get out of the state, we'll go see someone I know. He'll help, I think. I haven't seen him for a few years and he's a bit of a character, but he was a good sort, if a little rough around the edges."

"Ash should stay in the back of the truck. He's the one everyone's looking for and he's the one who had his photo all over the news.'

Max laughed. "Right and he'll do that because he's such a discreet kid. He's a bright kid, but I don't think he knows what the word 'cautious' means."

**Ash-**

"What the Hell are we doing here?" Ash demanded when the truck pulled to a stop. He looked up at the sky, still filled with stars. He jumped off the truck bed just as Max and Ibe-san walked around to the back to meet them. Max had pulled over on the side of the road. There were no cars to be seen on the road in either direction. On the opposite side of the street was a high wall over the top of which could be seen the roof of a house. There was a large, weather beaten sign hanging on the fence:

'**R.S. Salvage Yard'**

Ash frowned at Max. "We should keep going. We need to get to California as soon as possible."

"We won't get far without supplies and Bo is just the person to help us out." He looked over at the closed gate of the salvage yard. "Just give me a few minutes." Max left them all at the truck and marched to the gate. Somewhere a dog started barking. Max didn't bother to knock before he went into the salvage yard and closed the gate behind him.

The only light they had was from the moon, a security light in the salvage yard, and the lights of the truck.

Eiji spoke softly to Ibe-san near the tailgate and Shorter, as he often did, patrolled. He walked in seemingly lazy circles around Ibe-san, Eiji, and Ash. He looked up and down the road from time to time and would pause every so often to stare at the salvage yard. To anyone who didn't know Shorter, it might seem as if he were merely strolling around impatiently, but Ash, who knew Shorter very well, knew that Shorter was keeping an eye on their surroundings, watching for anything suspicious. He could never put in to words how thankful he was to have Shorter in his life.

Ash leaned against the side of the truck and looked up at the stars.

Jennifer was dead.

There was blood all over the diner.

He shook his head and looked down at his feet. His stomach twisted. He'd been so stupid. Dino always said Ash was smart. He'd hired the most highly recommended tutors to teach Ash, paid for him to have music and art lessons, as well as any other lessons he'd thought might enhance Ash's mind. He'd taken as much pride in Ash's intelligence as he had in Ash's body. So… why did Ash do something so stupid? He should have known that it would end badly. What good could really have come from going to Cape Cod? He should have sent the others while he stayed in New York and led Dino's men around the city. Or he should have just run to some random place like Ohio and let Dino's men chase him around there for a while. Then his people would have been safe, his dad wouldn't have been shot, and Jennifer would still be alive. If he'd only thought of that before.

Then Shorter was suddenly standing in front of Ash with his arms crossed over his chest. "Dude," Shorter said in a voice that was little more than a whisper. "I know that look on your face. Stop beating yourself up."

"I'm not." It was a lie and they both knew it, but Ash said it anyway.

"Sure you're not." Shorter rubbed his head where he'd been hit days earlier. "Look, I've pretty much got a constant headache because I got my brain rattled and I still know what you're thinking. You're thinking that you're lower than scum because Dino's people followed us to Cape Cod." Shorter reached up and pulled down his sunglasses just enough that Ash could see Shorter's grey eyes. "None of that was your fault. Yeah, you do dumb things sometimes, but this wasn't one of those times. We all sort of guessed we might be followed."

"But I knew he'd send people there!" Ash coughed. "He knows my real name and that's all he needed to track down my past. Of course he'd know where my dad lives."

Shorter nodded and his bright purple, fluffy Mohawk bobbed with the movement. Shorter's hair was magnificent. Ash had never seen such fluffy hair, not even on Eiji who was about the fluffiest person Ash had ever met. "That's right – he knows your name. He knows all about your past, doesn't he? He knows about your dad and where you lived. He knows everything, doesn't he? So, even if we went straight west to California what do you think Dino would have done?"

Ash rubbed his aching eyes. He knew right where Shorter was leading him and knew Shorter was right. "He'd have sent men to Cape Cod and they'd have interrogated my dad and Jennifer to find out if I'd been there."

"Right. So no matter what we did or where we went, Dino would have done the same thing. And his people would have killed both your dad and Jennifer when they were done. This is not your fault." Then he grinned. "Come on, I thought you were supposed to be a real genius; you should know it's really stupid to blame yourself for something you didn't do."

"You're stupid." It wasn't Ash's best come-back, but he really felt lousy and shouldn't be blamed for his slow wits.

"No, you are." Shorter's smile broadened and he pushed his sunglasses back up where they belonged. "You dumb little kid."

"Stupid marble-head."

They both laughed at the absurd turn the conversation had taken, but Ash started coughing almost at once. It didn't stop right away and he coughed until tears blurred his vision. Ash put hand to the back of his neck and rubbed his sore muscles. Everything felt sore, but that was probably because of riding in the truck for so long. It really wasn't anything to worry about.

"Are you alright?" A light hand touched his arm and Ash turned to look at Eiji. It was hard to believe that Eiji was two years older than Ash. He was short, but sturdy, and had such an air of innocence that it was almost frightening. Eiji had been kidnapped, shot at, threatened, almost stabbed… he should be at least a little jaded.

"Yeah. I'm good." Ash rubbed at his sore neck. He didn't feel good at all. He glanced around to see that Shorter had gone to speak with Ibe-san before he whispered to Eiji, "I keep thinking about Jennifer. You know… she was the closest I ever had to a real mom. Dad didn't want me and Griff living with them when I was little, but when Griff joined the marines he didn't have much choice. Jennifer was great. She used to make apple pie with cheddar cheese."

"Cheese?" Eiji wrinkled his nose.

"It's a New England thing. She never once complained about having me in her house or made me feel unwelcome." Ash suddenly had a flashback of Jennifer's body jerking as the bullets hit her. Blood down the front of her torn dress. Her brown eyes empty. Then he was back with Eiji. Ash shook his head, as if that could erase the memory. "She was really great. One of the best people I ever knew. That time… my dad talked about? That time with the little league coach?" When Eiji's eyes turned sad and he nodded his understanding, Ash said, "Dad was furious, but Jennifer just held me and told me I hadn't done anything wrong. Damn it. I can't even go home without getting people killed."

"Ash," Eiji hesitantly put a hand on Ash's elbow and looked earnestly up into Ash's eyes. "Jennifer was right: it wasn't your fault. And her getting killed wasn't your fault, either. I heard what Shorter told you and he's right. You need to believe him. You didn't shoot Jennifer. Dino's men did. They are responsible. He is responsible. You are NOT responsible. She wouldn't blame you, I'm sure."

Eiji was right. Jennifer never would have blamed him for anything that had happened back at the diner. Still, no matter what she might have said, no matter or Shorter or Eiji said, Ash couldn't seem to stop blaming himself.

"How's your leg?" Ash asked. "I never saw anyone get pin-cushioned like that."

"I'm alright. It hardly hurts."

"Really?"

"No, it's horrible. But Ibe-san doesn't think there's any infection and nothing's bleeding, so I guess I'll live."

Ash coughed, turning his head away from Eiji. His neck really was very sore.

Max came out of the salvage yard with a car battery under one arm and a plastic grocery bag in his other hand. He gave the battery to Shorter to put in the back of the truck and the bag to Ibe-san. "The spare battery will be just in case and the bag has groceries. Not much, but Bo gave us everything he could. I'm gonna owe him a really huge favor, though." The bag had canned things in it such as beans and vegetables and fruit. There was also a can opener, thankfully. Max had even been given replacement plates for the truck in case they were needed during the trip. There was also twelve hundred dollars in twenty dollar bills. Everyone silently ogled the wad of cash, all carefully bundled up in an envelope. Max looked at it, guiltily. "Yeah. Bo knew Griff back in the war, too."

"It won't take us far," Ibe-san said, looking into the bag with a doubtful expression. "The food will only last a very short time and even the money will be used up with buying gas for the truck."

"We'll ration and be careful with it." Max gave Ibe-san a cheery smile. "We'll be alright. Right then, I'll drive for the next few hours, then Shorter, and then Ash. Eiji, Ash, and Shorter - go get some sleep."

Ash blinked, taken aback by the command. "Are you sending us to bed?"

"Yes." Max grinned. "Time for all good little kiddies to get to sleep so the grown-ups can talk."

Eiji scowled. "I AM a grown-up."

"You're nineteen," Max argued. "That's still a kid."

"I'm almost twenty," Shorter added.

Max snorted. "Yeah and half the time you act like you're thirteen. You're a kid, too." He waved at them all. "Get some sleep, it's two A.M., for God's sakes. Go to sleep or you'll be cranky in the morning."

Max and Ibe-san started for the front of the truck and Ash heard Ibe-san say, "Be nice, won't you? They've had a rough time. Poor Ash…"

Ash didn't argue about being sent to bed. He hadn't been treated like a normal kid since he was seven and he found that he really didn't mind it. He'd bet good money that Max would be a fantastic dad.

They traveled for hours and Ash actually managed to sleep. He was perfectly at ease with Shorter and Eiji, so sleep wasn't difficult, but even after he woke he didn't feel any better. He'd dreamed of Jennifer. He'd liked Jennifer. He'd never called her 'mom', but she'd always been kind and gentle. That she'd died just because Ash had gone home… it wasn't fair. It just wasn't damned fair.

**Shunichi-**

All night they drove and into the next day until Max found a place to park, not at a gas station but a tiny strip mall that housed a hair salon, an accountant's office, and a pharmacy. Only the pharmacy was opened and the place was nearly deserted. They needed water and pain-killers. Shorter still had headaches and Ash's shoulder still worried Shunichi, though he insisted it was 'only a scratch' and that he didn't need anything for it. Eiji's leg was healing very well and he could walk with only a slight limp. Shunichi wanted to pick up a general first aid kit – the boys were injury prone.

Max handed Shunichi a ten dollar bill and asked him to pick up what they needed in the pharmacy while he went to the back to check on the kids.

The pharmacy had a whole section for different pain-killers and Shunichi was suddenly very confused about what would be best to get. He stood in front of the huge selection of medications, trying to decide between them, when he realized someone had walked up next to him and was staring. They weren't staring at the medicine, but at him. He turned and found a red-haired woman smiling at him.

In a dreamy sort of way, the woman said, "Hi."

Though a little surprised by how close she stood to him and how intently she stared, he managed a smile. "Good morning." Shunichi turned back to the medications. He wished he could read English a little better and wondered if he ought to swallow his pride and ask for Max's opinion. He wished desperately that they could take Shorter to a doctor to get him probably checked out. Were concussions meant to hurt for days on end? Surely the headaches should have disappeared after so long. He wanted to get a better look at Ash's shoulder, too. That poor kid had the worst luck.

"My name's Lottie. Er… Charlotte Nesbin."

Shunichi blinked and looked, again, at the woman. He smiled awkwardly. "Pleased to meet you."

"Yes. I've wanted to talk to you for a while now."

Shunichi frowned. A while? He'd only been in the pharmacy for two minutes. "Oh. Ah… that's nice. I'm sorry, but I can't stay."

"You have to!" She grabbed his arm and held it so firmly that he thought he might find finger-shaped bruises, later. "I've been waiting for you! Don't you understand?"

Shunichi gingerly pried her fingers off his arm. "I'm sorry. I really ought to go." Shunichi had no idea what was going on, but something about the woman set him on edge. "My friends are waiting for me."

"I know." She wrinkled her nose and looked out the window at the truck where everyone waited. "I tried to fix all that, but it didn't work out, Shunichi."

Shunichi felt his heart stop for a moment. Oh. He knew very well that he wasn't he swiftest of people, but… oh. She had tried to fix… She knew his name…

Shunichi's mouth felt very dry. "Please, excuse me, but- "

"No, don't apologize." She smiled, giddily. "I'm not mad. You can come with me, now."

"I really can't. I think you don't know the situation. I'm in a very hard position; there are some very bad, dangerous people after us. It would be best for you to stay away."

He could almost see stars in her eyes. "You're worried for me! How sweet! Well, you don't have to be. As soon as you get away from Max, everything will be fine." She reached out and took his hand, again. Her fingernails dug painfully into his hand.

Shunichi tried to pull away, but she held on. "Look, please understand – I don't want to be away from Max. He is my closest friend. I think you may have misunderstood something…"

"No. I understand it all." She kept smiling. "Shunichi, we're meant to be. Nothing and no one will ever come in the way of our love."

Shunichi's alarm turned to full on panic. "But… I'm not in love with you."

"Yes, you are. Come with me now and we can sneak out the back. Max won't even know what happened to you until we're well away from here."

"Please, listen. Max is my friend. I am going to stay with him." Shunichi pulled on his hand and finally managed to dislodge her. He had tiny crescent indents on his hand where her fingernails had pressed. "I am not in love with you. I haven't even met you before today." Shunichi stepped away in case the woman should try to grab him, again.

Her eyes darkened. Her smile faded away. "What do you… oh. I get it." She looked out the window at the truck. Eiji and Max were only just visible, sitting together on the tailgate. Eiji turned his head to speak to Ash or Shorter who were still concealed under the truck's canopy. "He's making you say those things. That Max." She spat his name as if it tasted foul. "Is it the boy? Eiji? He's yours, isn't he? That's why you're acting like this. Max threatened your kid."

"What? No…"

"Don't worry. I'll think of a way to fix this." She nodded decisively. "I understand if you can't get away from Max now, but tell me where you're headed and I'll meet you there."

There was clearly no reasoning with her. She was insane. Desperate to get away from her and to keep her away from Max, Shunichi said, "Orlando. Orlando, Florida. At a hotel called… called… Elliot's Place." He wasn't a good liar and wished Max was with him. Max was an excellent liar. "We're going straight there."

Her smile returned. "Then I'll meet you there." She darted forward and grabbed him by the arms. Then, she lurched forward and kissed him, square on the mouth.

Cigarettes. She tasted like cigarettes.

Shunichi was so shocked that for a moment he did nothing but stand there. Then he got a hold of himself and pulled away. "Stop!"

She laughed and rushed out of the store. From window on the front of the store, Shunichi watched as she got into her car and drove away so quickly that her tires squealed as she left the parking lot.

His mouth felt disgusting. He'd never wanted to brush his teeth so badly in his whole life.

Shunichi immediately went back to the truck. He pointed to where the car had gone and said, "I think that was the informant. I think she set Golzine's people on us and got Ash's stepmother killed." He didn't realize his heart was racing until he tried to speak and his realized he was having a hard time breathing. Still, he went on. "She said her name was Charlotte Nesbin and she just walked up to me and started saying odd things. She's been watching me, I think. She knew my name and I didn't tell it to her, I'm sure I didn't. When I said I had to get back to my friends she looked out here at the truck and she said she'd tried to fix that problem, but it didn't work. I don't know what else she could have meant."

Max looked stunned and slipped off the tailgate. He looked quickly around the parking lot, but the woman was long gone. "Damn it. Well… we'll have to keep a close eye out for tails from now on. Did she say anything else?"

"She assaulted me." Shunichi wrinkled his nose; he could still taste the cigarette. When Ash sat up straight and glared, Shunichi hurried with his story. There really was no reason to have mentioned that and it surprised him that he had. "She asked where we were going, said she'd meet me there. I told her we were going to Orlando. Was that right?"

Max looked relieved and patted Shunichi on the shoulder. "That's great. If we have just a little good luck, she'll head there. But we've got to go. She'll be likely to call Golzine, again, and tell him she saw us here. Let's go."

"No." Everyone turned to look at Ash. Ash crawled out of the truck and completely ignored Max when Max told him to stay out of sight. "You all stay here. You," he jabbed a finger at Shunichi. "Come with me." He stalked off, across the parking lot.

Suddenly ill at ease, Shunichi followed. They didn't stop until Ash came to a spot a good distance away from the truck, under the only light in the parking lot. He didn't quite know why he was uneasy about Ash looking so upset, he was fairly sure he hadn't done anything wrong. And what could he have done differently?

Ash stuffed his hands in his pockets and scowled down at his shoes. His too-long hair fell down, hiding his eyes. "So… um… yeah. Look, what did that trash do?" Ash's voice was very soft, almost a whisper. His face was red.

"Do?"

Ash let out an aggravated huff and turned halfway away from Shunichi. "I'm no good at this stuff, but did she… I mean…" He swallowed hard and still wouldn't look at Shunichi. "What I mean is, did she touch your junk or grab your butt or anything?"

Shunichi's eyes flew open as he understood why Ash was uncomfortable.

Before Shunichi could answer, Ash hurried on, as if he was afraid the words would get stuck in his throat if he didn't force them out. "You know, if she did… if she grabbed you or something, you know she's the pervert, right? You didn't do anything bad. Only creeps go around grabbing and stuff without permission and it's not your damned fault. And even if you weren't hurt and even if it might have…" Ash hesitated and looked as if he might be ill before continuing on, "Even if it might have felt good for a minute, you didn't want it and you didn't ask for it, so it wasn't your fault and you got nothing to feel guilty about because you were assaulted!"

Completely stunned by Ash's tirade, Shunichi was silent for a moment. The outburst had clearly cost Ash. He'd gone from being red in the face to pale. He was as tense as a bowstring. Few people would guess that Ash had such a kind heart under his tough shell.

"Oh, Ash… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. That was a bad choice of words on my part. My English is not always good and 'assaulted' was the first word that seemed correct, but I see now it was too strong. I didn't mean to say I'd been hurt badly. I promise you, she kissed me and that was all. I didn't like it and I didn't ask for it, but it's done now. I'm sure we won't meet her again."

All the tension abandoned Ash at once. His shoulders slumped and he let out a breath. "Okay. Right, then." He raised a hand up to scratch at the back of his head. "Yeah, I just… in case you didn't know, I wanted to tell you. It's not your fault if people go around grabbing you."

How sad that Ash would have learned such a lesson so young. "That's a very wise thing to learn," he told Ash.

"Yeah." Surprisingly, Ash smiled. It was just a little smile, just a tiny curl at the corners of his lips, but it was a rare smile. "I had a teacher when I was little and he was great. He wasn't like all the other creeps Dino hired as my tutors, this guy was amazing." There was real fondness in his voice. "His name was Blanca. Blanca was my favorite person. He never tried anything pervy and he taught me to fight and shoot and he let me borrow his books. He took me to the library every Thursday afternoon and helped me pick out good stuff to read. Anyway, he found out what Dino and his people were doing to me and Blanca told me it's not my fault. I can't control what other people do, so it's stupid to blame myself for it. Even if they say I asked for it, he said it's still not my fault. I think he's right."

"And I know he's right. Blanca sounds like a great person." Why that 'great person' would work for someone like Golzine, Shunichi couldn't guess. How could someone who was good enough to earn Ash's high opinion be bad enough to work for Golzine? It didn't make sense, but Shunichi found that he was simply happy that someone in Ash's childhood had given him at least a taste of kindness, even if that person had apparently been employed to turn a young Ash into a killer and had done an excellent job of it. "Thank you for worrying for me, Ash. I'd give you a hug if I thought you'd allow it."

Ash's eyes flew wide, then he gave another of those little smiles. "Aw, you're a real softy. I don't mind a hug."

Emboldened, Shunichi did hug Ash. It was quick, just a very brief embrace, but when he backed away, Ash had turned all bashful. "Yeah, so we should get going or Eiji is going to come running over to find out what's wrong." As they walked back towards the truck, Ash said, "If she does catch up with us, again, don't hang around her, alright? She might be smaller than you, but women are just as dangerous as men, especially the weird ones. If you have to, lie and tell her you only like guys. Tell her Max is your boyfriend or something. That might get her to back off. Better yet, just run away from her. She sounds like a stalker."

"Don't worry. America is a very big country so the chances of her finding us again are extremely small."

"That's doesn't mean it's impossible. Just don't take chances." They started walking back to the truck at a slower pace than they'd left it.

"Ash, would you be as upset if Max had been the one who'd gotten kissed?"

"Yeah, but don't tell him that. I don't think he'd want someone like me defending him."

"Someone like you?"

"Max is strong, you know? He was a marine, like Griff. He's pretty smart, too. I've read some of his work and I can tell he's smarter than he lets on. He's just a good person, he always knows what's right and he does it. I'm not good." Ash almost smiled when Shunichi tried to argue. "It's okay. I know I'm not good. I'm selfish and I'll manipulate people to get what I need. I've killed before and I'll probably do it, again. I'm a thief and a liar. I know who I am, there's no reason to be coy about it. So you see, I'm not good like Max and I'm not strong. He's seen me really weak. He saw me crying and drunk after I heard Griff died. He saw me beaten almost unconscious after being raped. So it would just embarrass him if someone like me tried to defend him." Ash shrugged. "Besides, Max is big; he can take care of himself. You're little, like Eiji."

Such a comment could probably be taken as an insult, but the way Ash said it made it clear that he didn't mean any insult; he was just stating a fact. He must have learned early in life that big people hurt small people. Shunichi said, "I'm bigger than that woman was."

Ash was quiet for a minute. "Yeah… well…"

"And Eiji is so gentle that even someone smaller than himself might…"

Ash stopped walking and turned to face Shunichi. He was tense, again, so serious that Shunichi was sorry he'd said anything. "Ibe-san, I won't let anything happen to Eiji. I will protect him."

"I'm glad he has someone like you to look after him." He frowned when Ash started to cough, again. "Try to get some sleep in the truck, will you? That cough sounds terrible. Tell Max I'll be right back." Shunichi turned and started back for the pharmacy.

"What are you doing? We have to go."

"We still need water and pain killers for Shorter." He would also get cough medicine for Ash.

**To be continued…**


	5. Nightmare

**Chapter 5: Nightmare**

**Lottie-**

There was no hotel. Lottie stared at her cell phone and felt a horrible coldness seeping around her heart. She had driven only a short distance from the little pharmacy where Shunichi had been when it occurred to her that she ought to look up where the hotel was in Florida. But there was no hotel. Not a single one named Elliot's Place in the whole of Florida.

Shunichi had lied to her. Her Shunichi, her dearest love, had lied. To her. TO HER!

Very slowly, Lottie put her phone down on the seat next to her. She put her hands on her lap and stared out at the street stretching out in front of her. She turned her car around. It had been nearly ten minutes since she'd left him and when she returned to the pharmacy, she found that he was gone. There was no sign of that ugly truck.

Her breath felt hot in her chest. Her vision almost seemed to turn red around the edges.

She couldn't pin the lie on Max, they'd been alone and Shunichi could have told her the truth.

Her Shunichi had lied to her.

So… what to do about that lie?

**Shunichi-**

Max pulled off the road in the late afternoon. He found a small side road and then, from there, a dirt road. He followed that dirt road until it faded away to nothing in a clearing at the edge of a lazy river. There were miles of nothing but forest in all directions and it was utterly peaceful.

Shunichi got out of the truck and went to the back where Eiji and Shorter had already gotten out and Ash, looking sleepy, sat on the tailgate. There was some sort of bird singing in the trees. Even the air smelled clean, fresh. Shunichi was torn between wanting to take photographs of the area and wanting to do nothing. The place seemed strangely perfect. It almost felt as if there had never been another human there before Max had driven in.

"How did you know about this place?" Shunichi asked Max, awed by the natural, subtle beauty of the place.

"I traveled a lot. Jessica and I ended up here a few years ago. Nice, isn't it?"

Nice wasn't a strong enough word. The little area simply radiated peace, which was exactly what they all needed. At that thought, Shunichi turned his head a little and looked down the path they'd taken. All was quiet. A squirrel placidly meandered across the path and into the brush on the other side. He couldn't even hear the traffic from the road. There was no sign at all that they'd been followed.

"Hey," Max said, softly. When Shunichi looked at him, Max said, "Don't worry. She's not coming. You sent her off to Florida, remember?"

"I hope she fell for it. What if…"

"No. No 'what if'. We can't worry about things we can't control. We're far enough off the street that if anyone tries to drive up here we're sure to hear them. I know it's hard, but try to relax." He grinned. "I'm not gonna let her hurt you."

"Eww." Ash made a gagging sound. "Old guys flirting. Gross."

It made Shunichi laugh and Max splutter in embarrassment.

Ten minutes later, they had a very picturesque picnic set up. One of the many green blankets they'd found in the back of the truck was laid out on the grass and their food rations for the day set out on it. Shunichi and Max sat on the blanket while Eiji had taken off his shoes and socks and dipped his feet in the water. Ash sat, quiet and still next to Eiji while Shorter stood near them, happily tossing little stones into the river.

Dinner was a handful of crackers, some pork rinds, and two strips of beef jerky. It wasn't the most filling of meals, but it was food and they couldn't afford to be picky. Eventually, everyone sat on the blankets and ate, except Ash. He wouldn't even look at the food.

"Are you sure you won't eat, kid?"

Without looking at Max, Ash shook his head. He pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his knees.

Max looked down at Ash's share of food, sadly. Max was a father, Shunichi knew. He didn't like seeing any kid go hungry. It was hard enough for him that he wasn't able to be with his son, but to be with young people and not be able to help them (Ash didn't like accepting help at all) hurt him. But he didn't push Ash and that was likely for the best. Shunichi may not have known Ash terribly well, but he was fairly certain that if anyone had pushed the issue with food, Ash would have just gotten worked up and getting agitated wouldn't help him feel better. While Ash's cough seemed to have cleared up, he was lethargic and quiet. What he needed was sleep – uninterrupted sleep in a safe place, preferably in a soft bed. Max gathered up the untouched food and put it back in the truck for when Ash felt better.

"Alright." Shorter abruptly jumped to his feet. He stretched his arms over his head and pushed his sunglasses up a little higher on his nose. "Eiji, on your feet."

Ash gave Shorter a baleful look. "No."

"He's got to learn. Come on, Eiji."

Looking a little mystified, Eiji got to his feet. "What do I have to learn?"

Shorter looked him up and down, walked around Eiji twice before he finally came to a stop in front of Eiji and put his fists on his hips. "Right, then. It's time you learn a little thing called knife fighting." Shorter grinned wildly and pulled from somewhere on his person, a fearsome knife with a blade that was nearly eight inches long. It was slightly curved at the tip and was partially serrated. Eiji grimaced at the sight of the thing, though Shorter held it with worrisome familiarity. "You, my friend, are going to learn how to handle a blade."

Ash opened his mouth to say something, but apparently thought better of it and closed his mouth with a blush.

"But everyone has guns," Eiji protested. "A knife won't help me if Arthur shoots at me."

"True, but there are lots of people who will get close enough to give you a chance to slice them open and the more weapons you can use, the better off you'll be. I heard Ash was teaching you to use his gun so if he gets a chance to teach you then so do I. Ash, give him your knife."

Ash let out a long-suffering sigh even as he reached down to pull a small knife from a sheath strapped to his ankle. It was far different than Shorter's knife. The blade was no more than four inches long and was very plain with a black handle. "Don't hurt him," Ash warned Shorter.

Shorter laughed. "You know I don't do anything with my blade by accident. I'm more worried about me. Eiji, you're shaking. It's not going to bite you; try to relax." Then he looked back at Ash. "And what will happen if he gets a little cut?"

"If you hurt him, I'll shoot you."

"What if he hurts me?"

"If he hurts you, I'll buy him an ice cream."

Shorter laughed. "Fine. Fine. Now, Eiji, you hold it like this."

And so the lesson went. For a few minutes, Shorter went over how to hold the blade and how to clean it when he was finished using it. Then he moved onto the best spots to aim for. "I always like to go for the neck, myself. One quick slash and it's all done. Of course, if you're standing in front of the other guy, then you'll get sprayed and blood's a real pain to get out of fabric and you have to wash your hair to get it out of there or it will just make your hair a sticky mess, so if you can, stand behind them when you kill them. Anywhere you cut them will be good, though. Sometimes, if you slice them enough they'll just bleed out. Of course, getting them in the gut will…"

"Hey!" Ash had turned rather green and glared at Shorter. "Do you mind?"

"What?"

"You don't need to be so graphic. He's not going on a killing rampage; he just needs to defend himself."

Shorter looked over the top of his sunglasses at Ash. "This coming from the guy who once nearly killed a dude with a pool cue?"

"Humor me."

"Fine, fine. Eiji, let's fight."

Eiji looked down at the little knife in his hand and then at Shorter and Shorter's knife. He paled dramatically. "I don't think this is a very good idea."

"It's a great idea," Shorter protested, enthusiastically. "It'll be fun."

Five minutes later, Eiji, looking rather stunned, faced off with Shorter while Ash, Max, and Shunichi watched from the sidelines. It was unnerving to see the two with deadly weapons in their hands and getting ready to attack each other. Shunichi only barely restrained himself from chewing his fingernails. Ash watched it with a clinical sort of detachment. Max didn't bother to restrain himself and loudly cheered, "Get him!" While he gleefully clapped at the spectacle.

"Don't encourage them!" Shunichi elbowed Max, hard. "If you shout you'll make them nervous and someone will get hurt."

"Don't worry, Ebi-san," Ash said. "Shorter's really good with his knife. He won't make any mistakes." Ash yawned and stretched out to lay down on the grass. He closed his eyes and, by all appearances, fell asleep while Eiji dodged and stumbled out of Shorter's way.

The fight was terrible and by the end of it, Shunichi was certain that he'd developed an ulcer. His hands were shaking. He let out a strangled whine when Shorter's knife got a little too close to Eiji's face. No one else seemed worried. Max kept cheering for them and Ash didn't even bother to open his eyes. Part of the problem was the size difference – Shorter was remarkably tall and muscled like a horse. Eiji was smaller than average and almost looked like a child trying to fight an adult. The sun glittered on the blades as they slashed this way and that.

Shorter was as confidant as ever, but Eiji wore a grimace that showed how uncomfortable he was with the whole exercise. He did try. He lunged now and again at Shorter, but more often than not Shorter kept him on the run. Finally, Shorter froze in place. "Right, I think that's enough."

Eiji was panting for breath and slumped a little. "Oh, thank God." No one had gotten hurt, but Eiji was sweating heavily and Shunichi felt as if he'd been the one who'd faced off with Shorter, he was exhausted and never again wanted to watch such a thing. Then Eiji looked up at Shorter and actually smiled. "Thank you for helping me. I hope I never have to fight you for real. You're much TOO good with that!" He went to Ash and sat next to him on the grass and shook his shoulder. "Wake up, don't you want your knife…" Eiji paused and frowned. He put his fingers lightly against Ash's forehead. "Ash… you're hot."

Ash blinked up at Eiji and raised an eyebrow. "You're pretty cute, too."

Max snorted and Shorter outright laughed.

"Oh!" Eiji flushed and scowled. "That's not what I mean and you know it!" He put the palm of his hand against Ash's cheek. "I think you have a fever."

Shunichi went to Ash and knelt next to him. He, too, gave Ash's forehead a light touch with the back of his hand. "Doesn't feel too high. Maybe some sleep will fix you up. Max?"

Max got to his feet and nodded. "Yeah, we'll stay here tonight and I'll get a fire going so our little Ash will be toasty and warm." He smirked at Ash before he said, "Eiji, Shorter, go get some blankets for your little brother. We'll make him a nice, soft bed out here under the stars. Fresh air and not bouncing around in the truck will do him good."

Ash pouted and looked like he wanted to argue, but he crossed his arms and wiggled his head away from Shunichi's fingers. "I'm fine. I don't need to stay here. We should go. I can sleep just as well in the truck." But he made no effort to get up.

"Kid," Max said, seriously. "You've been coughing, lethargic, pale, you haven't got an appetite, and now you've got a fever." Max put his fists on his hips and narrowed his eyes as he looked down at Ash. "Did you get a flu shot this year?"

Shunichi wanted to smack Max. After all the horrible things they knew Ash had suffered through in his young life, how could Max think that anyone would care to give Ash basic medical care? Ash was lucky to even be alive! Had Golzine ever even sent him to a dentist?

To Shunichi's shock, Ash answered, "Dino gave me money to get a shot, but…"

Max waited only a moment before prompting, "But what?"

"I don't like giving him what he wants and he wanted me to have the flu shot. So I bought shoes instead." Ash wiggled his feet to indicate his bright red shoes. "And a soda."

Max slapped his forehead. "You silly kid. Right then," he looked at Eiji and Shorter. "Blankets, boys. Let's get him comfortable and then everyone get some sleep. We'll leave at first light."

Max was quick in building a fire and soon they had a roaring little campfire. Ash was moved closer to the fire and bristled at the care everyone took with him. He seemed stuck between embarrassed, angry, and secretly pleased. Max took no notice of Ash's mild snarling and snapping and cheerfully brought out yet another blanket to drape over Ash, joking that he was tucking the baby into bed. Ash didn't appreciate the joke, judging by his sulk.

When all was done and everyone was comfortable by the fire, Max called Shorter to sit by him. "We need to look at those stitches. See if they can come out, yet." He was very careful as he examined the stitches and then opened a bottle of water to gently wash the area around them. "We can take them out in about two days, I think. Nice and clean and, somehow, no infection. Shorter, my boy, I think you have the luck of the Irish on your side. I think I'll have to give the side of your head a fresh shave, though, to keep your hair out of the healing area. You want me to do the rest of it, too?"

"Man, just don't touch my Mohawk, got it?"

"Are you sure?" Max grinned, his eyes crinkling at the sides. "You'll look more respectable with a crew-cut than with a crest." He playfully ruffled Shorter's purple hair.

"I don't want to look respectable that much," Shorter squirmed away from Max and ran his hands through his hair as if to fix it, though Shunichi couldn't see any difference. "Do we even have a razor?"

"Of course." Max went to the truck and brought back what he called his 'bug-out bag'. He dug though it for a moment before he brought out a small box that, when opened, turned out to be a shaving kit with shaving soap and a long, old-fashioned straight razor. Max pulled the blade out of his kit with a flourish.

"You're not touching my head with that thing!" Shorter protested.

Max looked surprised. "You wave that short sword of yours around like you're King Arthur and you're afraid of a little razor?"

"I'm not putting my knife near my head!" Shorter started to inch away from Max. "I don't need a shave that bad!"

Max laughed, loud and long. "Alright, alright. Next time we find a town I'll get you a safety razor. Does that sound safe enough for you?"

Shorter pouted almost as well as Ash did.

"How about the rest of you?" Max offered. "Anyone need a shave?"

Shunichi raised a hand like a schoolboy. "If you don't mind. I'm starting to feel shaggy."

"You look shaggy. Come here and let me show this kid how to really use a blade."

"I wish you wouldn't use me as an object lesson." Still, Shunichi sat still and comfortable while Max gave him a shave. He was perfectly at ease. Max's hand was steady and sure. He lathered Shunichi's face with shaving soap before he began the practiced strokes of the blade against Shunichi's cheeks and around his throat. When he was done, Max carefully wiped the remains of the soap off Shunichi's face and smirked at his work. "There. You look decent, again. Anyone else? Eiji?"

Eiji grinned, but rubbed a hand over his chin. "I don't have much. It doesn't grow fast. I guess it's not worth the bother. I wouldn't want to be a nuisance."

But Max was more than happy to indulge Eiji. He sat on his knees in front of Eiji and did the same to him as he'd done to Shunichi and when he was done, Eiji was smiling at his newly smooth face. "Thank you, Max! You didn't need to take the trouble." But he looked as pleased as a young boy who'd just been given his first shaving lesson by his father.

Max seemed to be enjoying his time playing barber for the troupe and, even though the chances of Ash allowing anyone to put a blade that close to his throat seemed microscopic, said to him. "And you, kid?"

Ash stared into the fire. "I'm sick. You should keep away."

"I think I can handle a sick kid. You want a shave or not? Might make you feel better to be cleaned up."

But Ash sighed and didn't look at Max. "I don't have any hair to shave." He swallowed hard, then looked around at all of them. He sat up and inched closer to where Shorter sat. "When… when I was little, Dino said he didn't want me to start looking too old. He didn't like the idea of me having hair on my face. He took me to a doctor that... umm… he gave me electrolysis treatments to stop me from growing facial hair. So… no. I don't need a shave."

Max looked angry. He usually looked angry when Ash spoke about Golzine. "Just your face?"

"My legs, too. My chest. Other places." Ash looked away. "I'm done talking about it. It doesn't matter."

"Right. Fine." Max closed his razor and put his kit away. Golzine was hundreds of miles away and he'd still managed to ruin a perfectly fine day.

As Ash had spoken, Shorter leaned over a little until their elbows touched. That simple little contact seemed to be enough for Ash.

Ash was the first one to fall asleep and, when it was clear that he was asleep, Shorter quietly said, "Look, don't make a big deal about the hair thing. If he wasn't sick, he wouldn't have said anything. He's a private kinda guy. He'll be pissed when he wakes up and realizes that he told. He's sick so… you know… just let it drop."

Eiji immediately said, "Of course. We don't want to hurt Ash."

Max, still angry, took a minute before he nodded his agreement.

Shorter abruptly sat up straight. "Cigarette smoke!"

"What?" Max looked completely baffled.

"Cigarette smoke. Outside Griffin and Ash's house. In Cape Cod. We all smelled it." Shorter spoke very quickly and grimaced as he spoke. "I knew I recognized it. It was back at your place, Max. When we first went there, a woman was standing outside smoking. She was a red-head, I think. Yeah, I know I'm right. She was near the steps going into your building and she watched us. She was puffing away on her cigarette and it was the same smell that lingered outside the house in Cape Cod."

Shunichi felt his stomach tighten. "She had red hair. The woman at the pharmacy had red hair and when," he quickly glanced at Ash to make sure he still slept. "When she kissed me, I could taste the cigarette smoke." He grimaced at the memory. The revulsion he'd felt at the time hadn't faded a bit but, inexplicably, he felt a rush of shame. Shame made no sense – he knew he hadn't done anything wrong. And really, it had only been a kiss. It wasn't anything like Ash had been forced to endure for years on end. Honestly, he was entirely overreacting. Shunichi forced the feeling away and looked at Max. "At your apartment I found a note. It was… creepy." He told them about the strange letter and how he'd thought it unimportant because they were leaving the city. "I'm sorry. I should have said something at the time, but everyone was already so worried."

Eiji put a hand on Shunichi's arm. "It's alright. You didn't know."

"Thank you, Ei-chan."

"There's nothing to be done about it, now, anyway." Max seemed completely unconcerned about the whole thing. "At least now we know who it is and I'll recognize her if she turns up, again. A red-headed smoker – that sounds like Charlotte Nesbin. I don't really know her, but I'll recognize her. Let's get some sleep."

Shunichi took the first watch and stayed awake while everyone else slept. The night was warm and peaceful. The fire was kept fed but only enough to keep the coals alive. Ash, for once, slept deeply and didn't wake at each and every little noise. Shunichi was glad for it; Ash needed all the rest he could get. Shunichi fed a stick to the hot coals and watched as it caught fire. With nothing to distract him, his thoughts lingered on his stalker.

He should leave.

_'__What did I do to deserve this? Why me?'_ Shunichi closed his eyes and his hands balled into fists. _'I can't do anything to help them. If she comes back and finds us someone could get hurt. What if she's got a weapon? Stalkers are terrible; one of the kids might get killed… Max would try to stop her from hurting anyone and then he might be hurt. Because of me. She's only looking for me, so…' _Shunichi's throat felt as if it were constricting. _'They'll be safer if I go. I should just go. There's no reason for me to stay. They don't need me. I can't even fight to help them stay safe. Max will take care of everyone.'_

Ash twitched. It was no subtle thing, his whole body jerked. His left arm went up and rested against his forehead for a moment before both hands went up and he held them there for a moment. In the firelight, his fingers trembled. His face was tense, his brow deeply furrowed and his mouth pressed into a narrow line. He let out a sudden moan, low and pained. Very clearly, he was in the grip of a nightmare.

"Ash?" Shunichi spoke quietly, hoping to wake Ash without disturbing anyone else. He moved over closer to where Ash lay and it struck him as odd that Ash didn't wake, not even when Shunichi was less than four feet away from him.

He was about to reach over to shake Ash and wake him when he smelled something, strong and unpleasant. He looked closer at Ash and realized with dread what the smell was from and how badly Ash was likely to react. He looked carefully around and saw that everyone was deeply asleep.

"Ash. Ash, you need to wake up." He raised his voice just a little. "You're safe Ash, it's just a nightmare. Wake up."

Ash woke with a start. His eyes flew open and he sat bolt upright. His breath came in jagged little gasps and he stared straight ahead for a minute. Slowly, he looked around. He looked at Shunichi, then at Max, Shorter, and Eiji. His eyes lingered on Eiji for a moment. Then he looked back at Shunichi.

Shunichi saw the moment Ash realized the problem and watched as utter horror spread across Ash's face.

**Ash-**

Ash woke very suddenly, panting heavily and it took all he had not to lash out. He could feel his heart racing, pounding furiously against his ribs. Ibe-san was looking at him. Ash calmed down at once. Ibe-san was like Eiji, he was a gentle person and he didn't seem at all threatening. Once Ash was properly awake, he blinked and sat up and… froze. He went cold all over. Feeling warmth and wetness, Ash moved the blanket to the side and looked at his lap. Soaking wet.

For a long time, Ash just sat there and looked at the mess he'd made. He glanced, again, at the others, who thankfully slept, then he looked up at Ibe-san.

Ibe-san gave Ash a soft smile. "It's alright."

Ash turned red. He felt his throat tighten and he had to force himself to swallow so he could speak. "I… It was just…"

"It's alright. You didn't do anything wrong."

It had been a nightmare. Ash always had nightmares about this or that, but he hadn't had an accident in years. He was seventeen, for God's sake! He was fairly sure his hands were shaking. He didn't have any spare clothes, none of them did. They'd left Cape Cod so quickly that there hadn't been time to grab anything. The longer he sat there, the colder his mess felt and he felt his eyes burn. If Eiji woke up and saw him like that…

Ibe-san sat next to Ash. He whispered, "Ei-chan sleeps like a rock. If you're quiet and fast we can fix this. Take off your wet clothes and cover yourself with one of the blankets. It's not that bad; I doubt the blankets you're sitting on got a bit wet." Ibe-san politely turned his back.

Ash had no idea what else to do, so he did as he was told. It wasn't the first time some old guy had told him to take his clothes off, after all, and he was fairly sure Ibe-san didn't have anything gross in mind. He stripped and covered his dignity with a dry blanket.

Ibe-san opened up Max's bug-out bag and fished out some soap. He went to the little river and soaked his handkerchief before he put some soap on it and handed it to Ash. "Wash yourself." Then he gathered up the little pile of wet clothes and the blanket that had been covering Ash and took everything to the river with the soap.

It was too much for Ash when it struck him that Ibe-san planed to wash his filthy, disgusting clothes. Ash choked, "You don't have to do that! I can take care of it." It was just too gross to think of anyone taking care of his mess. He tried to get up, but was stopped by a sudden wave of dizziness and had to sit, again.

Ibe-san didn't reply, but knelt next to the river and started to work. He carefully only washed the wet spots so he didn't get everything soaking wet. It only took a moment then he came back and lay everything out as close as he could to the fire. "They'll dry, soon, and we'll tell anyone who asks that you spilled water on yourself when you tried to drink." He got one of the water bottles out of the truck and handed it to Ash. "Drink. We'll have the empty bottle as proof and you need to keep hydrated, anyway."

"Thank you." Ash couldn't say anything else. He took the water bottle with both hands. It was such a simple thing, really. It hadn't taken Ibe-san any effort at all, but Ash felt himself grow warm all over. He gingerly felt underneath himself and was thankful that Ibe-san had been right – the blankets under him were perfectly dry. He looked at Ibe-san, embarrassed. "What about your handkerchief?"

"We'll add it to your clothes." And he gave it a quick wash in the river before added it to everything that was drying near the fire. Finally, he washed his own hands, then came to dry them by holding them out to the fire. "And now we wait. It won't be long."

They settled in quietly. Ash lay back down as he still felt damned rotten, but he didn't let himself go back to sleep. Wrapped in nothing but a blanket, he kept glancing at the others to make sure they didn't wake up to catch him as he was. The shame of having someone wash his clothes for him… it was unspeakable. If he hadn't been sick, it never would have happened. Blanca had taught him better, how to prevent such situations and how to take care of things if they did happen so he'd never have to ask for help. But he was dizzy and every move made his stomach roll. If he wasn't sick then it wouldn't have happened.

"I'm sorry." The words slipped out before Ash realized what he was saying and he bit his tongue to stop himself from saying anything else.

Ibe-san shrugged. "It's really not as bad as you think. They'll be dry very soon and no one will know."

"You won't tell Eiji?" God, he hated how insecure he sounded – like a whiney little kid. If this was what being sick did to him, then he was definitely not going to do it, again. Next time, he'd get that stupid flu shot.

"Not if you don't want me to. He wouldn't tease you, you know. He's really very sensitive."

That didn't mean Ash wanted Eiji to think less of him. "Shorter knows. There was this time… it was really bad… I got away from Dino 'cause of stuff and Shorter let me sleep at his place. Nadia doesn't mind if I hang out there; she's really great and she feeds me bagels. But Dino did some… um… stuff and I had nightmares that night, too." Suddenly needing to defend himself, Ash said, "And I little back then, too, and little kids do that sometimes. So, Shorter knows and he won't say anything, but Eiji and Max… I don't want them to know." Honestly, he didn't want Ebi-san to know, but that ship had sailed.

"It's your choice, but the whole situation isn't as bad as you seem to think. Ash, listen – you have had a very hard life and it's only natural that you have a lot of terrible nightmares. You're also sick. It's almost to be expected that your body starts to… well… misbehave a little. And it really wasn't all that much, just a couple of wet spots. Don't let it upset you."

Ibe-san was proven right when, less than an hour later, the warmth of the fire had dried Ash's clothes perfectly and he was able to get redressed. He lay down and stared into the fire, determined not to fall back asleep for fear of another accident.

Five minutes later, he was sound asleep.

**Lottie-**

She drove down the road with her hands clenched so tightly around the steering wheel that her knuckles hurt. She was entirely focused on the road ahead. She couldn't shake the anger burning in her brain. It felt like her insides were on fire and all because of Shunichi and his faithless betrayal. Of course, she didn't know why he'd lied. Why to her? She just wanted to be with him.

As she drove, she went over a little bridge that crossed a river. A short distance away, she found a town. While it was a small town, there were some businesses here and there. She had no idea how to find Shunichi. He had to have come into town – there were no side streets between the pharmacy and the town except a tiny little road that couldn't have led anywhere as there hadn't even been a street sign. There was a cheap motel, the Sleep Inn, in the town and she pulled into the parking lot so she could stop and think.

Where would Shunichi go? What did she know?

The boy, Ash Lynx, was a missing child and a wealthy, powerful man was looking for him. Max, who was clearly a deviant and a kidnapper, must have taken the boy and Shunichi. That meant he also had taken the boy Shunichi was so concerned with, Eiji. Probably Shunichi's son. Shunichi was simply concerned for his son and the kidnapped boy, that was why he'd lied about where they were going. That must be the reason. He didn't want Max to hurt the boys or - she smiled slightly – her so he'd tried to keep her away from Max. He'd been trying to protect her with his lie. How sweet of him.

That didn't tell her where he was or where he would be going.

She took out her cell phone and typed in the name 'Max Lobo' and quickly found biographical information about him on one of the websites for a newspaper he wrote for- the Greenwich Tribune. They had similar things for all their journalists and under Max's name, she read that he was a military veteran with several years of distinguished service to his credit. He had gone through the police academy, but gave it up to write. It also mentioned his wife and son, both of whom lived in Los Angeles, California.

Wife and son. Family.

A slow smile spread across Lottie's face. If Max were to go anywhere, surely it would be there. The biography had made it sound as if he were very fond of his family. He would go there. Eventually, he would go to California and to his family. She'd wait there and when he appeared Shunichi would be with him. Yes, Los Angeles was the place to go.

She considered making a phone call to that Golzine guy, again, and let him know what she'd figured out but his people had turned out to be incredibly ineffective. They'd shown up at that diner back in Cape Cod, but, as she'd watched from nearby, everything had degenerated into an appalling mess. There had been a lot of noise and gunshots and, to make it all worse, Max hadn't been killed and had taken Shunichi away, again.

No. She wouldn't involve Golzine, again.

Lottie pulled a cigarette out of her purse and lit it with her lighter. She put the cigarette in her mouth and breathed in then let out the smoke and it billowed around the inside of her car like a cloud. She would get a room for the night at the motel. As she had a destination in mind, she didn't have to rush.

With a flick of her thumb, she struck anotoher flame on the lighter. She stared into the tiny flicker of fire with a growing sense of determination. She didn't need help from Golzine; she could take care of Max by herself. She let the fire die on the lighter and put it back in her purse. She'd do anything to get Shunichi. She'd get him and then she'd never let him out of her sight, again.

**To be continued…**


	6. Blanca

**Chapter 6: Blanca**

**Ash-**

Ash fell back to sleep after Ibe-san had been so kind to him by helping with his clothes. It amazed him – Ibe-san had actually washed out Ash's clothes. Sometimes, these new people shocked the Hell out of Ash. How was he supposed to react when everyone was so nice? He'd just gotten used to Shorter's friendship and Nadia's quiet kindness, but now life had thrown Max and Ibe-san at him, not to mention Eiji. He had no idea what to think of Eiji. People being nice to him made him nervous. Usually, they wanted something from him, but these people didn't. Even sick and nearly destitute, Ash somehow felt perfectly safe. Sick, but safe. The fire was warm. The air tasted cleaner than Ash had ever imagined possible. The little river made a gentle noise as it rolled over and around any obstacle in its path. His clothes were dry.

Ash looked at Ibe-san, sitting placidly by the fire, and felt his cheeks burn. No matter what Ibe-san had said about the whole incident being nothing to be embarrassed about, Ash wanted to bury himself in a hole. God! He'd never live that down! To have someone washing out his clothes like he was a little kid had to be one of the most embarrassing things that had ever happened to him. It hadn't happened in years. Not since Blanca…

_'__But he left.'_ Ash squeezed his eyes tightly closed. _'Blanca left and I'll never see him, again.' _His heart hurt at the thought. _'I wish he'd stayed… just for a little while longer.'_

In moments, Ash was asleep and he began to dream of a time long ago, a memory of when he'd been a child of thirteen.

**_Dream- _**

Ash had wet the bed.

He was thirteen and he wet the bed like a damned baby.

Still fuzzy from sleep and shaky from his nightmare, Ash sat in his bed and wanted to cry. He was wet and reeked. The fine silk bed sheets Papa Dino had given Ash were soaked right through and the mattress was probably ruined. The whole room smelled gross and the maid would come in the morning and she would know and she'd tell Papa Dino and then…

Ash sniffled and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. He was getting cold and sitting there like a dummy wouldn't do any good. It wasn't the first time it had happened, after all. He knew what to do.

Ash got up and cleaned himself up as quickly as he could. His room had a bathroom, so it was easy enough to take a shower and put on clean pajamas. Then he took the bed sheets off the bed and bundled up his wet pajamas with them. He took the whole mess and stuffed it into a thankfully dry pillowcase and got ready to take it to the laundry room.

The clock said it was just after midnight, but that didn't mean the whole house was asleep. It was entirely possible that Dino was still working in his office and it was a certainty that there were guards patrolling the house. So Ash was very cautious when he pulled open the bedroom door and peered out into the hall. He neither saw nor heard anyone. After a moment, when he felt it was safe, he crept out and started down the hall.

He knew Dino's house like the back of his hand. The carpets were thick and tickled the bottom of his bare feet. He paused here and there and hid when Dino's men crossed his path. He wasn't noticed for a long while.

When Ash neared Dino's study, he decided at once to take another path to the laundry room. The light was on in the study and the last thing he wanted was for Dino to find him with an armful of wet laundry.

"His voice cracked the other day." It was Marvin who spoke and Ash went still – listening. He felt himself start to sweat. His breath quickened. He hated Dino, but Marvin terrified him.

"Yes. He's starting to grow up," Dino replied, blandly.

"Have you thought about stopping it?"

"How?"

"You could try castration."

Ash didn't know what 'castration' was, but as it was Marvin's idea, he was certain it was a very bad idea.

"No," Dino answered in that deep, powerful voice of his. "I won't have his body disfigured in any way." Then he hesitated for a moment. "Perhaps an earring, someday. Something to match his eyes. But nothing else. Besides, I haven't decided if I want him to breed, yet. He would produce fine offspring if I can find a suitable mate for him. Or perhaps I'll look into cloning. I have heard that there has been remarkable advances in the science of cloning these past few years. That way, I won't have to pollute his genes. I could have dozens of perfect little Ashs."

Ash slunk away after that. His stomach felt funny. A bad funny. Sick. He wasn't entirely certain what Dino and Marvin had been talking about, but… breed? Ash felt his stomach lurch. Maybe they hadn't been talking about him.

His hands tightened on the fabric of the pillowcase he held and he swallowed hard. As quietly as he could – silent as the grave – Ash started to look for another path to the laundry room. He would find a dictionary in the morning to look up what they were talking about, but at that moment, getting the bed sheets cleaned had to be the priority. He had no idea what to do about the mattress.

He went down this hallway and that, down stairs and around corners. The laundry room was in the basement and he was nearly at the stairs that led down to the basement when he had to walk by the kitchen. There should have been no one in the kitchen so late at night, but just as Ash went to walk by the open doorway, someone walked right into him.

Ash lurched away and, out of habit, put his back against the wall before he'd even looked up, but when he did, he froze.

Blanca.

Blanca was truly a mountain of a man. He had to be close to seven feet tall and was heavily muscled, like a brick wall in a jacket. Ash strongly suspected that Blanca could bench press a tractor. He had long, black hair that hung down his back in a ponytail. His face was broad and rather round with friendly, blue eyes and an open smile. Blanca held a glass of milk in one hand. He blinked down at Ash, surprised.

Ash was terrified. Blanca had only been employed by Dino for a couple of days so Ash really didn't know him. Blanca wasn't as scary as Dino or Marvin, but he worked for Dino so he'd tell. He'd tell that he found Ash wandering the halls with wet things. Ash suddenly couldn't find his voice. His breath caught in his throat and, for a moment, he felt the world go grey.

Blanca's eyes narrowed, suspicious and worried. "Ash? Can you breathe?"

"Yes." Ash sucked in a deep breath and his vision returned to normal. "Yeah, I'm okay." He frowned at Blanca and tried to summons up some of his bravado.

"That's good," Blanca gave him a smile. "I thought you might be having another panic attack."

Ash felt a blush rise up the back of his neck. "I'm not. That was just a one-time thing." It wasn't. He had them far more than he'd ever admit. When Blanca had found him in the slimy hotel Marvin had left Ash in, his hands still tied up and completely naked, Ash hadn't been able to fight off the panic attack. Marvin had frequently brought friends with him when he took Ash to the hotel and the idea of huge Blanca wanting to do things to Ash was just too much. He'd imagined Blanca being humungous all over and the idea of the pain that would cause had sent Ash out of control. He'd panicked and Blanca had held him and calmed him with soothing words. It had been completely embarrassing and fantastically confusing. Ash still didn't know what to make of the whole thing.

"It's late. You should be sleeping." Blanca kept his voice soft. "You have lessons early in the morning." Blanca took a sip of his milk. "I won't go easy on you just because you're tired."

Lessons with Blanca. It was to be Ash's first day of class with his newest teacher and he had high hopes that Blanca would truly be better than the other tutors Dino hired. Blanca had been very, very unhappy when he'd learned what Marvin liked to do to Ash. And he'd promised, when he'd found Ash in that squalid hotel room, that he wouldn't hurt Ash. Maybe he'd be better… Maybe not.

"I was just… out." Even Ash knew it was a feeble lie. He hadn't realized he might need a lie until just that moment.

"Just… out?" Blanca made a show of bending down to look at the bundle of laundry in Ash's arms. "Out doing the wash? At so early an hour?" Then, to Ash's horror, Blanca drew a deep breath in through his nose. The smell of Ash's filth was obvious. There was no hiding it and, from the look of understanding on Blanca's face, he knew exactly what had happened.

Ash was fairly certain that he kept his face still, but he couldn't help how his voice was just a bit wobbly when he said, "It was an accident."

Blanca nodded. "That happens sometimes. Are you clean?"

Ash nodded. "Yes, Blanca." Ash shifted from foot-to-foot. "Are you going to tell Papa Dino?"

"I don't see any reason to, if you think it will upset him. After all, it was only an accident. I'll take care of your laundry." Blanca gave Ash a gentle smile. "Wait in my room."

The betrayal Ash felt at that quiet order hit like a sledgehammer. He'd thought… after Blanca had found him in the hotel room… After everything he'd said and how nice he'd been…

It was with great effort that Ash pushed himself back to the problem at hand. He hugged the bundle of laundry to his chest. "The mattress is ruined. Papa Dino will find out and he's gonna be so angry." And angry meant a beating. If he was lucky. If he was unlucky, Dino would give Ash to Marvin for the day. He'd rather have a beating. "Papa Dino hates a mess. Stupid. I'm so stupid." Ash reached up a hand and grabbed a handful of hair, tugging it until his head hurt. "I can't believe I did that. Again. He's gonna yell at me."

Blanca took hold of Ash's wrist and carefully pulled it away from Ash's hair. "Please, don't hurt yourself. This really isn't anything to fret over. Believe me – it was an accident and a lot more people have them than you would guess. It's likely that it was brought on by stress and I think you have more stress to deal with than most people," Blanca answered, mildly. He put a hand on Ash's shoulder and guided him to the room he'd been given. Blanca's room was very simple, not at all like the room Ash had been given. There was nothing in Blanca's room of any kind of a personal nature except a hat sitting on a dresser and a small bookshelf packed with books. "Get into bed and I'll take care of your mattress as well as the laundry." He put his milk down on the desk and took the dirty laundry from Ash. "Don't worry yourself sick."

"How are you going to fix a soaking wet mattress?"

"I have experience cleaning up many types of messes and urine is not the most offensive one I've dealt with." Blanca left then and Ash, alone in the room, turned to stare at the bed with apprehension.

Ash's fear began to reassert itself. He'd thought Blanca would be different. Maybe he hadn't been angry that Marvin had used Ash. Maybe he'd been angry because he'd wanted Ash all to himself.

He had known Blanca for a grand total of a few hours and while Blanca hadn't tried to put a hand on him in any sort of questionable fashion, Ash just knew that the night wasn't going to end well for him. At least Blanca seemed nice and gentle. He was big so it would hurt, but he didn't seem to be like Marvin who LIKED hurting Ash. And he was helping and said he wouldn't tell Papa Dino about the accident.

Ash had had lots of practice putting up with adults and what they wanted from him and he was thankful that Blanca was nice and kind. He was. That didn't mean that Ash liked it or wanted to do anything. Still, he knew better than to argue. So he sat on the bed and waited. Sometime later, Blanca came back into the room, still smiling.

"All taken care of and none will be the wiser. Your bed is fresh and clean. The laundry is nearly finished. As soon as morning comes, we can put the clean bed linens on the mattress and you'll be in the clear. All that aside - I did notice that you didn't have a lie ready when I asked you why you were up in the middle of the night. You should always have a few good lies on hand to use; they're very useful. The morning's lessons will be about effective lying." He sat in the chair at the desk and picked up a book he'd left there. "For now, try to rest."

"Yes, Blanca." Then Ash, who knew it was better to settle matters at once rather than to worry about them, stood up and went to stand in front of Blanca. "Thank you for not telling Papa Dino." Ash swallowed hard, forcing down the revulsion he felt. "What do you want me to do?"

"Do?"

Ash knelt down at Blanca's feet and put his hands on Blanca's knees. "For helping me. What do you want me to do? Do you want a blow- "

"Don't finish that sentence." Blanca snapped his book closed and stood up. He towered over Ash. Blanca was bigger than just about everyone, but when Ash sat on the floor as he was, Blanca seemed like a giant and Ash couldn't help but be afraid of him. Blanca set his book back on the desk before he took hold of Ash's arm and pulled him up to his feet. "What I want is for you to get in bed and go to sleep like a good little boy. Your bed is still damp and will take time to dry, so you will sleep here." He walked Ash back to the bed and pulled back the covers. "Get in."

"But… what do you _really_ want?"

"To read my book. Now, go to sleep."

That wasn't right. It couldn't be right. But he did as Blanca said and lay down on the bed. The pillows weren't stuffed with down and the mattress had lumps. The blankets were warm, but made of scratchy wool. He lay there as Blanca put the blankets carefully over Ash, then actually took the time to tuck him in.

"I'm not a kid," Ash muttered. "I'm thirteen. You don't have to tuck me in."

Blanca looked at Ash and his smile was gone. Ash felt badly that he'd said something to make Blanca lose his smile, but he didn't know what he'd said wrong. Blanca reached out slowly and carefully and patted Ash on the top of the head. "You are a child and I know that I do not have to tuck you in." Then he went right back to tucking Ash in. "The door and window are locked; no one will come in." He went and pulled the curtains closed and Ash felt better knowing that no one would peek in the window. Blanca turned off the light, but kept on the small reading lamp at the desk where he sat down and picked up his book, again.

Ash just stared at Blanca, completely mystified by his behavior. "But… I don't understand."

The pity in Blanca's eyes made Ash want to fight. Blanca sighed and said, "Someday, you will understand. Not everyone wants to hurt you. Good night."

"Good night, Blanca."

Ash didn't fall asleep. Having an adult in the room with him while he tried to sleep was too awful and he couldn't relax enough to sleep. So he watched Blanca quietly, though Blanca did nothing but read all night. He finished his book, then found another on the book shelf and started that one.

Eventually, the sun rose and Blanca quietly left the room for a few minutes. When he returned, he reported that he'd remade Ash's bed. The maids would find nothing to report to Papa Dino.

**End Dream-**

There was yelling. Someone was yelling.

Ash blinked and looked up at the sky. It was still night. He was tired and so sore that he didn't want to move, but someone was still yelling.

"Grab his arm, Eiji!" Shorter shouted.

Ash turned his head to the side and was utterly shocked to see Shorter and Eiji trying to wrestle Max off Ibe-san. Ibe-san was on his back on the ground with Max crouched over him. Max's large hands were wrapped around Ibe-san's throat as he did his very best to strangle him.

**To be continued…**


	7. Boom

**Chapter 7: Boom**

**Shunichi-**

Ash had gone back to sleep and slept in peace for more than an hour before Shunichi watched Ash for a time and felt immense relief that Ash appeared to be finished with nightmares. The poor boy deserved at least a good night's sleep once in a while. He deserved a lot more from life, but a peaceful night was the very least he deserved. He would wake Eiji to take the next watch, Shunichi decided. Shorter's concussion was nearly healed, but a little extra sleep would do him no harm, and Max had been driving for far too long. He and Eiji were the clear choices to keep guard at night and he was certain Eiji, who had a heart as big as the sun, would agree. They could always sleep while the others were driving, after all.

Shunichi's calm lasted only a short time before he, purely by chanced, looked to the left and noticed the river. There was nothing alarming, at first glance, but it moved faster than it had earlier. He was certain. The river was lit by be the moon so that each and every little ripple glittered like silver. He realized that the water was rising right before his eyes. It was no slow thing – he could actually see the water rising, inch-by-inch, as the seconds ticked by. He stood and felt his stomach tighten.

Was it too much to ask for just one quiet night?

"Max," Shunichi went straight to Max and gave him a shake on the arm. "Get up; we have to leave! Max- !"

Then, Max was awake. His eyes sprung open and his hands were instantly on Shunichi's throat. Max rolled and suddenly Shunichi found himself on the ground with Max crouched over him. Max snarled,

"I'll kill you! Thought you'd sneak up on me?" His hands tightened and Shunichi couldn't breathe. "Where are my men? What have you done to my men?!"

Max was no weakling, but Shunichi managed to pry his hands away just enough to shout, "Shorter! Help!"

Shorter slept almost as lightly as Ash and was at once awake and rushed to help. He yelled, "Eiji!"

Together, Shorter and Eiji each took Max by an arm and pulled. They were both very strong, but Max was built like an ox. They pulled and strained, but it wasn't until until Eiji grabbed Max by the ear and gave a mighty twist that Max released Shunichi. Shunichi could actually see the moment when awareness flashed into Max's eyes as he woke. He was horrified. Max launched himself backwards, taking both Shorter and Eiji with him, to get himself away from Shunichi.

For a moment, all that could be heard was the heavy sound of Max panting for breath. He was pale. He shook. His eyes were so wide that Shunichi could see the whites all around the iris. Max stared at Shunichi and the look in his eyes was horrible. Fear, saddness, self-loathing - it was all there to be seen as plain as day. His mouth opened and closed a few times, as if he wanted to speak, but just couldn't find his words. He looked at Shorter, then at Eiji, but turned back to Shunichi and he had such a look of regret that it nearly broke Shunichi's heart.

Eiji scrambled away from Max to get to Shunichi's side. "Are you alright? What happened?" Eiji put a hand on Shunichi's arm and put a hand up to touch his throat. "You'll have bruises."

Shunichi patted Eiji's arm. "Don't be angry." It hurt to speak and he sounded dreadful, but Eiji's eyes were narrowed and very unhappy. "He didn't... wasn't on purpose." Shunichi shouldn't have done it. He shouldn't have touched Max while he was sleeping. There was always the danger of Max's PTSD flaring up and Shunichi knew it. He should have been more careful and not been in such a hurry.

"Not on purpose?" Eiji frowned. "But..."

"It's not his fault." Shunichi patted Eiji on the arm, but spoke firmly. There wasn't time to explain and even if there were, he wouldn't have. It was Max's business and it was a private struggle. That Max had confided in Shunichi was an honor and Shunichi wouldn't speak to Eiji without permission from Max. "We need to leave. Look at the river!" He jabbed his finger at the rising river which caused everyone to turn and look at it.

Shorter said something rude.

"Flash flood?!" Max was himself, again, in an instant. He pulled the truck keys from his pocket and threw them to Shorter. "You drive." Then he turned and went to Ash, who was already struggling to get to his feet. He took Ash by the shoulders and pull him upright. "Can you walk?"

"Sure. Yeah." Ash took only two steps before his knees buckled. He would have fallen if Eiji hadn't caught him on one side and Max caught him on the other.

"Get him in the truck, Eiji." Max fell on his knees at the campfire and used his bare hands to shovel dirt onto the fire to extinguish it. As soon as the water had risen so alarmingly high that it touched Max's shoes, he took handfuls of water and dumped them onto the remains of the fire, making it hiss and spit until it died. When nothing was left by wet coals, Max jumped to his feet, splashing in the water as he did, and ran for the truck. "Shorter! Drive!" They hadn't even made it out of the clearing before Shunichi looked back and saw that their entire campsite was flooded.

They got back onto the main road and just started driving. After five minutes or so, Shorter pulled over and everyone met at the back of the truck to confer about their next move. There wasn't much to talk about, as far as Shunichi was concerned. He'd already decided what they would do, all he had to do was convince Max.

"We need to stay for a night at a motel."

At Shunichi's declaration, Max groaned and rubbed the top of his head with one hand as he so often did when he was frustrated. "Shunichi, you're killing me. We should keep driving as far as we can. I've had enough rest; I can drive the rest of the night and then Shorter can take over, again."

"No. We're stopping at the next motel we find." He would not let Max persuade him away from the decision.

The two men stood a bit apart from the teenagers, all of them sitting on the tail gate of the truck. Ash leaned heavily on Eiji. "Don't I get a say in this?" Ash muttered. "It's my mission. You guys are just along for the ride. You should all listen to me."

If Ash hadn't been so sick, Shunichi would have smiled. Ash probably had no idea how adorably childish he sounded. Shunichi turned back to Max. "And we need some medicine for Ash. I can't believe your bug-out bag doesn't have any fever-reducer. New clothes would be good, too."

Max shook his head. "We don't want to be weighed down with unnecessary things."

Shunichi felt his eye twitch. He planted his hands on his hips and narrowed his eyes at Max. "My friend," he nearly hissed the words. "Clean clothes are NOT 'unnecessary things'!" He pointed sharply at Ash, Shorter, and Eiji. "Those children stink!"

Eiji covered his face with his hands and groaned with embarrassment. Shorter looked a bit offended, but brought a hand up to sniff himself and didn't seem impressed with what he smelled. Ash crossed his arms, belligerently. Not one of them argued.

"All teenagers stink," Max said, unapologetically.

"Not if they have clean clothes and a shower once in a while. So, we are stopping at the next town and we're going to find a change of clothes for them. We're going to get their dirty things washed, and we're going to get a motel room so they can wash themselves."

Max shook his head, but smiled. "Alright. Fine. Probably wouldn't hurt. I don't know what kind of motel we can afford…"

"We ARE getting a motel room! Everyone can sleep on the floor on blankets so we'll just get a small room with a single bed. It will be very cheap." Shunichi gave Max a pointed look. "If you argue anymore, you'll sleep in the truck."

So at the next little town they came to, they went straight to the town's only motel. Max took forty bucks from Shunichi and got them checked in for the night, though they got some funny looks from the clerk.

"It's weird," Ash told Shunichi, sluggishly. "Think about it - two adults renting a one bed motel room with three teenagers? Damn. We'll be lucky if they don't call the cops."

The motel room was awful. The room smelled clean, but the carpet was about fifty years old and the wallpaper had gone out of fashion in the seventies. They brought in blankets from the truck and spread them all over the floor to sleep on because Shunichi didn't trust the cleanliness of the carpet anymore than he did the pillow on the bed and he wouldn't let anyone use that either.

Everyone washed. They kept the showers quick so everyone got some hot water. Max and Shunichi let Ash, as the youngest and the one who was sick, go first, then Eiji and Shorter. Max went after that because he'd done the majority of the driving and, finally, Shunichi. He'd just finished when he realized that Shorter's head wound needed to be checked and hurried out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist so he could remind Max.

He needn't have worried. Max had Shorter sitting in a chair in the middle of the room and was already examining the stitches. "How do they look?" Shunichi asked.

Max gave him a satisfied smile. "Great. This kid's as strong as a horse! Healed up in no time, not a sign of infection, and I don't even think he's going to have a scar." He gave Shorter's arm a pat. "Let's get those stitches out." He took his tiny first aid kit out of his bug-out bag and started getting his things ready. "Shunichi, look... back at the river... I didn't mean it. I'm sorry." His voice was strong and steady as he said it. Only his hunched shoulders and the fact that he didn't look at Shunichi showed that he was extremely uncomfortable. "I'd never want to hurt you."

"I know. Please, don't worry about it. Just think about Shorter's head."

"Yeah," Shorter added in. "I go home with a scar and my big sis is going have a fit, so be careful."

**Lottie-**

Once again, God smiled down on her. She'd found Shunichi, again. She'd watched from the window of the room she'd rented as the ugly truck pulled into the cheap motel's parking lot and the five of them got out. Her eyes instantly went to Shunichi. Poor thing looked exhausted. Max must have been treating him horribly. She watched as Max ran to the motel's office, then ran back to the truck. All five of them trooped into a room at the far end of the motel, about as far from Lottie's room as they could be. She forced herself to wait. For almost a half-an-hour, she sat in her room by the window, waiting to see if any of them would go back out to their truck. When there was nothing, she stood up and, as calmly as she could, left her room and walked down the side of the motel to Shunichi's room.

The motel was a single-story building and was little more than a very long rectangle with a dozen rooms all side-by-side. There was a narrow sidewalk down the front of the building and a small parking lot for the patrons. It was an ugly building, nothing but the bare essentials.

She stopped outside the room Shunichi had gone into and smiled when she saw that while the curtains covering the room's only window, right next to the door, had been closed, they hadn't been entirely closed. There was a tiny sliver of space, no more than an inch wide, that let her peek into the room. Her breath caught in her throat.

Shunichi... wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was wet. He'd clearly just stepped out of the shower and the sight of him made Lottie forget to breathe. He was lovely; simply perfect. He wasn't particularly muscular, but she found that his body suited her just fine.

Slowly, Lottie lifted a hand and pressed her fingertips against the glass. She could almost imagine she was touching Shunichi. He'd be warm, she knew. Warm and soft.

They were all in the room. The blonde boy was laying on the floor, wrapped in blankets, while the Asian boy sat on the floor next to him and petted his hair with tender strokes. And Max... Max hovered over the purple-haired boy, poking and prodding his head. He spoke to Shunichi, but Lottie couldn't hear what was said. Soon, Shunichi went back into the bathroom and returned fully dressed. Lottie was very disappointed.

She pulled her hand away from the glass of the window, suddenly aware of how it might look if someone were to spot her peering into a motel window. It was nothing like THAT! She wasn't that kind of person. She'd just wanted to see Shunichi, just to see how he was doing. At that moment, though, she'd have given her left arm to catch a glimpse of his bare chest, again. She stepped away from the window, then turned and quickly walked back to her room, thinking.

Shunichi was so close. She didn't think she could bear to let him get away, again. It occurred to her that she didn't have to go to California to use Max's family to get Shunichi, anymore. She was convinced that the only reason Shunichi hadn't gone with her before was because Max had threatened Shunichi and his son. Max couldn't possibly expect that she would stumbled across them, so she'd have the element of surprise on her side and she'd be able to get rid of the threat.

An electric thrill ran down her spine.

If she acted quickly and decisively, she could have Shunichi. She could have him before dawn.

Her hands shook with exhilaration.

She felt desperate to have Shunichi, to finally have him and not be chasing him all over the countryside. Desperate to have him smile at her. Desperate to touch his skin. She felt incredibly, violently desperate.

**Shunichi-**

After Shunichi had finished dressing, he came out of the bathroom to find that all of Shorter's stitches had been taken out and Ash was nearly sleep.

"We're running low on money, aren't we?" Shorter said, getting to his feet. "If we're going to be getting clothes and food and gas for the truck and medicine for Little Mister Sicky, we'll need more cash. I'll go get us some. Be back in a couple of hours." He pulled on his heavy vest and headed for the door.

"How?" Shunichi asked, suspiciously, before Shorter could leave.

"Don't worry. I'll get it."

Shunichi's eyes narrowed. "You're not stealing."

Shorter rolled his eyes. "No, I'm not stealing anything. Don't worry so much."

Shunichi crossed his arms. "You're not prostituting."

That made Shorter swear. "No! I am not prostituting for God's sake!" He gave Ash a quick, apologetic look. "No offense."

"None taken." Ash waved away the concern.

Shorter threw an arm over Shunichi's shoulders. "Look, there's got to be a bar in town and I'll bet they've got a pool table or some morons looking to arm wrestle. I'll get some money and be back before you even know I'm gone. You won't have time to miss me." With his hands stuck in his pockets as he whistled as if he were the most care-free person in the world, he walked off into the night.

Next, Shunichi and Eiji got ready to go out. "We should get some food for the trip. There was a grocery store not too far off and it looked like it was open, even so late at night. We can walk there and be back in an hour or so. The street lights in this town look decent so it should be safe."

Eiji cheerfully nodded his agreement. "That way we won't waste gas for the truck. We'll get good things, too. Shorter wants apples." Then he looked at the floor behind Max where Ash rested. He was asleep, again, and it worried them all that he didn't even wake when there was noise.

"Are you sure you don't want to go?" Shunichi asked Max.

"No." Max gave Ash a sad smile. "How could I leave him when he's this sick? It's my responsibility to look out for him, since Griff can't." As always, mention of Ash's older brother, Griffin, brought that awful haunted look into Max's eyes. "I can't let Ash down, not when he's so helpless. He needs to be protected, now. Don't forget to bring back some medicine for the kid."

Shunichi and Eiji left with a promise not to forget Ash's medicine.

**Lottie-**

She watched from the window of her motel room as Shunichi and Eiji left. With the taller boy, Shorter, having gone earlier, that left only Max and the blonde boy, Ash, in the motel room. It wasn't ideal; there was no reason to involve Ash, but it was the best opportunity she'd found to get Max out of the way.

Lottie didn't smile.

Her face was as still as stone.

Slowly, she turned away from the window and walked out of the room. As she did, she pulled a cigarette from her purse and lit it with her lighter. She didn't taste it at all when she put the cigarette between her lips. Lottie didn't look at the door of the room where she knew Max and Ash were, but walked down the length of the motel, then around the back. There was a dumpster and rocks and tall, overgrown grass. There were no windows in the back of the motel and large brush had grown up here and there. It was very well concealed.

For what seemed like a very long long time, Lottie hemmed-and-hawed. She paced around, thinking and wondering. It was a crime, what she was going to do. She'd never broken the law before. She'd never even had a speeding ticket and what she planned to do would end up with people dead. Murder. But... to have Shunichi...

Mind made up, Lottie picked a spot exactly being the room Max was in. There was a lot of tall grass in that spot; the motel owner clearly didn't care what the back of his business looked like. There was a propane tank, probably fuel for heating the motel. She stared at it for a long moment then bent down and gathered up a handful of grass and lit it on fire. She put the grass, as it crackled and smoked, right next to the motel wall and stood up. The wooden siding caught fire slowly.

Lottie backed away. She watched the fire for a time, watched it as it both went up the wall and crawled across the grass and approached the propane tank, then turned and walked away. She got into her car and pulled out of the parking lot. She drove a very short distance down the street where she pull over on the side of the road and waited.

There was a chance Max might escape the fire, but she dearly hoped not.

**A few minutes earlier-**

**Shunichi-**

They'd only gone a short distance before Shunichi stopped dead in his tracks.

"What's wrong, Ibe-san?" Eiji asked.

The motel wasn't in sight any longer, but Shunichi couldn't help the nagging worry in his gut. "Max has been working non-stop since we left New York. He's done nearly all the driving and hasn't had much of a break. If he goes shopping with you, he can relax for a few minutes by doing something that isn't at all stressful. You and he can take the truck and take your time. I'll stay with Ash."

Eiji crossed his arms in a sulky, belligerent manner. "You're not mad at Max? He might have killed you at the river."

Shunichi laughed. "Ei-chan, if you really believed he was planning to kill someone, you wouldn't have left Ash with him, now would you?"

Eiji shrugged.

"Don't give me that; you wouldn't have and you know it." Shunichi tried to think of how to explain. "Look, I won't lie and tell you that Max isn't dangerous. He IS dangerous. He is very big and very strong and he has had a lot of military training designed to make him even more dangerous. But we both know he has a good heart and he wouldn't deliberately hurt any of us." Then he hesitated. "It's not my place to tell anyone about Max's problems." Shunichi turned and started back for the motel at a quick pace. "Max has some issues and I know about them. He told me once not to wake him by touching him or shaking him. I forgot because it was late and I was tired and I was worried and the river was rising so quickly. I forgot and I shook his arm." Shunichi stopped walking and faced Eiji. "Do you understand? What happened wasn't Max's fault and I completely forgive him for what happened."

Eiji didn't look any happier, but his face was thoughtful as he mulled over what Shunichi had said. Then, his eyes went very wide. "It was a flashback. Max has flashbacks. Poor Max! I didn't know! And I was so angry at him. He must think I'm horrible!"

Shunichi sighed. Of course Eiji had figured out; he was a smart kid. Shunichi put a comforting arm over Eiji's shoulders. They started walking together. "You don't have to feel bad about that. Max doesn't talk about it. And he doesn't think you're horrible; if anything, he thinks HE'S horrible for not being able to control it. Now, let's not make a fuss and embarrass him. You go to the store with him and be nice and lighten his mood. Help him pick out some good things to help Ash feel better."

They arrived at the motel and after some arguing to convince Max that he needed a little break from responsibility and that Shunichi was perfectly capable of watching Ash sleep for an hour or so, Max and Eiji left. They took the truck so they would be able to get more supplies and fill up the tank.

When they'd gone, Shunichi looked over at Ash. He was was asleep on his side, curled up with his knees drawn up to his chest. The blanket they'd covered him with had shifted and Shunichi took a moment to adjust it to make sure Ash was covered right up to his chin.

Ash didn't so much as twitch.

There wasn't much to be done. Shunichi sat in a chair at the tiny table in the room and waited. He worried more for Shorter than for Max and Eiji. He knew where Max and Eiji were, but Shorter hadn't been very clear about where he'd been going or what, exactly, he was planning to do to get the money he said he'd get. If something happened to Shorter... how would they find him? What if he didn't return when they were ready to leave?

It had only been about twenty minutes after Max and Eiji had driven away that Shunichi went to check on Ash, again. He put his hand lightly on Ash's forehead and frowned. Ash was much warmer than he had been only minutes ago. His fever was worryingly high. Shunichi put his hand on Ash's cheek.

"Ash? Can you hear me?"

Ash didn't move.

"Ash? Come on. Wake up for just a minute. Open your eyes."

Still, nothing.

Shunichi sat back on his heels. In any other circumstance, he would have immediately taken Ash to a doctor. But he didn't have the truck and he wasn't sure when Max would return. He could call for an ambulance, but... Max said they would need fake names if they went to a hospital to keep Golzine from finding them which meant that even hospitals were dangerous and the people working there couldn't be trusted. While Golzine couldn't have people everywhere, Ash was still being looked for as a missing child. If some honest doctor or nurse had seen the news story with Ash's photograph and reported them, then they'd be in a world of trouble. Shunichi rubbed a hand over his face. He struggled not to panic. What was more dangerous - the hospital or the fever?

"You need medicine," Shunichi said to Ash, though he suspected Ash couldn't hear him. "We can't wait until Max gets back; you need medicine now." He looked up and looked out of the window. There, directly across the street, was a small corner store. It was the type of place that sold necessities - bread, milk, newspapers, and a small selection of medication - and was open twenty-four hours.

Shunichi jumped to his feet and dug into his pockets. He had six dollars and some change. It was plenty. It had to be plenty.

"Ash, I'll be right back. It will only be a few minutes, I promise." He locked the door behind him when he left the motel and ran across the street to the little store. He had a choice of many medicines and, just as with the medicine he'd bought for Shorter at the pharmacy they'd stopped at, he had to struggle to find the right thing. He finally settled on a liquid fever-reducer as he was fairly certain Ash was in no state to swallow pills. He paid with all his money and had only thirty-five cents left in his pocket when he left the store. With the medicine in hand, Shunichi started back across the street.

Boom.

Force.

Heat.

Shunichi had been taken right off his feet. He was laying on his back on the sidewalk. He realized, staring up at the sky, that the motel had exploded.

He got to his feet, slowly. His ears were ringing. The motel was on fire. Half the roof was gone.

Ash was still inside.

**To be continued...**


	8. Help

**Chapter 8: Help**

**Shunichi-**

The motel had exploded.

"Ash?"

The motel had exploded. It was on fire. Black smoke rose steadily into the sky. Orange, yellow, and red flames peeked out of the windows and doors and broken walls. People were screaming, guests ran out of the motel. People from near by homes and businesses ran to help. Someone shouted, "Call 911!"

Through all the chaos, Shunichi sat where he'd been thrown and stared. He couldn't breathe. For a terrible, long moment, he felt as if the air had frozen in his lungs. His heart was a pulsing ball of pain in his chest and all he could see in the billowing smoke was Ash on the motel floor, alone and helpless... alone...

Then he was standing. Shunichi didn't remember getting to his feet, but he was standing. The shriek of a siren broke through the sound of screaming. Police? Firefighters? A siren. Getting closer.

Ash was still inside.

Ash... life was always against him. Everything bad that could happen to a person happened to him, it seemed. Shunichi didn't know all that had happened in Ash's life (he was sure Eiji knew more but kept it secret for Ash's sake) but he knew enough to know that Ash had led a lonely, sad life filled with pain and fear. Thank God he'd had Shorter's friendship. Shunichi even found himself thankful for Ash's beloved teacher, Blanca, the man who'd taught Ash to kill and had taken him to the library every Thursday. Ash had sounded so happy when he'd spoken about Blanca taking him to the library, as if the privilege of being allowed to go was a great treat, something to be highly anticipated, to be so grateful for. At least there had been one adult in his life who'd given Ash a taste of happiness. Two people. Two people in the whole world who'd cared for Ash. That wasn't nearly enough. And now, he was alone, again. Alone and, on top of all the other garbage that had been thrown at him, Ash was unconscious on the dirty floor of a cheap motel as it went up in flames.

"No." Shunichi felt the word breathe out of his mouth, nearly silent.

That thought - Ash laying on the floor, completely helpless - kept running through Shunichi's mind. Over and over, it flashed through his mind, a million lightning strikes in the night, the thought lit up his brain and Ash was still inside!

Shunichi ran. Across the street without any care for traffic, he sprinted to the door of their room, his eyes locked on it. He completely ignored the people milling around, gaping at the ruins of the motel. Someone grabbed him by the arm and tried to stop him, but Shunichi pulled away without even looking at them. He had to get Ash. Ash was sick and helpless and Shunichi had to get him out.

Parts of the motel were all over the place. There was debris everywhere, in the parking lot, in the street, littering the lawns on the houses on either side of the motel, strewn on top of cars and truck. The smell of smoke in the air became nearly suffocating as Shunichi got close to the motel. Shunichi went straight for the door of their room. The window had been blown out and glass was scattered all over the ground. Parts of the siding had been ripped off and lay all around the parking lot. Shunichi grabbed the doorknob, but it was hot and he pulled away with a cry. He yanked off his coat and covered his hand with it before he tried the door, again. It wouldn't open. The door was jammed.

"Ash! Ash! Wake up!" He hoped, with Ash's paranoia and insane survival instinct, that Ash wouldn't have slept through the motel exploding, but if Ash was awake, he wasn't coming out. He screamed, again, "Ash!"

Desperate, Shunichi went to the broken window. He yanked down the curtain and saw, horrified that Ash still slept on the floor, apparently completely unaware of what was happening around him.

The sound of sirens was getting closer.

He hit the broken shards of glass that remained in the window frame to clear the window. He cut his hand, but didn't feel any pain. It only took a moment to clear the window but smoke kept pouring out and it choked Shunichi. He coughed as it burned at his throat and lungs. He breathed in not only smoke, but heat and it hurt. His eyes stung and watered. When the window was finally cleared, he climbed through the window. One of the walls was on fire. The inside of the door was burning. The room was becoming choked with smoke despite the open window.

He tried to speak to Ash, but he couldn't seem to get enough air in his lungs to speak. He shook Ash by the shoulder, but there was no response. It was very quickly becoming too smoky to see. He had to get Ash out.

God, where was Max? Shunichi didn't think of himself as weak, but Max was big and muscular and had proven that he could easily throw Ash over his shoulder and tote him about. Shunichi wasn't nearly big enough to do any such thing. Ash was skinny, but he was a good several inches taller than Shunichi and his thin body was packed with lean muscle. There was no way he could carry Ash. So he dragged Ash to the window and only then did he make any attempt to lift him. Three times he tried to lift Ash, but it didn't work. It was awkward and he feared that he wouldn't be able to do it, that they would both die in that motel room because he'd be damned before he left Ash to die alone.

There was a noise behind him and Shunichi looked up and saw, through the thick haze of smoke, two firefighters climbing in the open window. The men were nearly hidden under their fire fighting gear, their faces almost entirely obscured. They wasted no time. One took Shunichi by the arm and started to pull him while the other went to Ash. Shunichi was pulled to his feet, but he held onto Ash, irrationally panicking that they would separate him from Ash, but it was no good. He was so weak and disoriented from the heat and smoke that the moment the firefighter started to pull him to the window, his hand slipped away from Ash. He turned his head in time to see the firefighter with Ash easily lift him and sling him over one shoulder before he headed towards the window, too. Before Shunichi realized what was happening, they were both on the far side of the street, well away from the fire. The firefighters made sure Shunichi was sitting on the sidewalk and carefully laid Ash down. They pulled off helmets and masks as one knelt next to Shunichi and the other next to Ash.

"Kid? Hey, kid, can you hear me?" The firefighter with Ash rubbed his cheek and called out loudly, trying to wake him. When Ash didn't respond, he looked at the firefighter with Shunichi. "No response. No visible burns, at least."

The other firefighter was trying to examine Shunichi. "Ambulance will be here in a minute. Sir," he said to Shunichi. "Are you hurt anywhere other than your hand?"

"Please," Shunichi looked imploringly up at the firefighter. "He's sick. He has a fever. He hasn't been feeling well."

Ash's firefighter, a middle-aged man with dark hair and eyes, gave him a quick nod. "Thanks. Don't you worry, I think he'll be just fine. Do you know what he was sick with?"

"Fever. He has a fever. It didn't get bad until now. He has a fever." Shunichi started to cough and it hurt. It hurt like someone was burning his lungs.

"Okay, buddy. Okay. Don't get worked up; I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." The firefighter with Shunichi reassured him with a soft voice. "Let's worry about you. Let me see your hand. Those are some nasty burns." The hand Shunichi had used to try to open their room's door with was red and blistered. He hadn't realized. Hadn't even felt it. "Sir, are you hurt anywhere else? They're going to give you an exam at the hospital just to be sure, but if you're hurt now, you can tell me and I'll let them know."

"N-no. I don't... I'm not... onegaishimasu, look after him." It terrified Shunichi that Ash hadn't so much as opened his eyes the whole time that strangers were all around, touching him. "I'm alright. Daijobu. Tasukete. Tasukete." He didn't even realize that he'd slipped back to his native Japanese.

And then the ambulance had arrived, bright lights illuminating the night. More people rushed out and someone flashed a light in Shunichi's eyes. The firefighters were giving reports to the paramedics. He listened to it all, feeling rather detached, while trying to keep an eye on Ash. Ash wouldn't like all these people around him when he was sleeping. He wouldn't like that at all. Someone was taking Ash's pulse, someone listening to his lungs. They ripped his shirt get better access to his chest.

"Leave him alone. He doesn't like it. Please, leave him, alone." He might have fallen back into Japanese, he wasn't sure. The dark-haired firefighter heard and came back to sit next to Shunichi on the ground.

"These are the paramedics that are going to take care of the kid. They're great people; friends of mine. You don't have to worry about him."

Shunichi said, "Please, I got him medicine. From the store." He tried to take the bottle of fever reducer from his pocket, but it was gone. He checked both pockets. "I had some. I did. The man at the store said it was good for fevers. I had it." Part of him realized he was probably in shock, he felt as if he were holding onto his reason by a thread and the fact that Ash's medicine was gone was almost enough to sever that thread. "He needs his medicine!"

"Hey, now, don't panic." The dark haired firefighter gave Shunichi a reassuring smile. "Everything's gonna be just fine. He's going to the hospital and they'll take real good care of him. They'll give him all the medicine he needs. They're great doctors."

One of the paramedics was looking at Shunichi's hand, asking him questions. He heard someone say something about shock, smoke inhalation, lacerations from broken glass, fever, non-responsive, burns.

"What's his name? Sir, can you tell me his name?"

That simple question helped ground Shunichi. He took a deep breath and swallowed hard. He remembered what Max had said about using fake names at a hospital. "His name? Henry. Henry Woods."

"Great. That's just fine. And your name?"

"Yuki Matoh. He's my nephew. His father will be coming back soon. He went out for food." It was suddenly vitally important to find Max, because Max would know what to do. Shunichi looked around and when he didn't see Max straight away, he tried to stand up. "Where is he? Where...?"

The firefighter pushed Shunichi gently back down to the ground. "Just sit for a bit. You're in shock, I think, and you're going to the hospital with your nephew. Just do what the doctors tell you and everything is going to be fine. Another ambulance will be here soon."

"No! I need to stay with him. I will ride with him. Please."

The firefighter looked at the paramedics and they all shrugged. "I guess so, but you have to stay calm and do what they tell you. Got it?"

"Hai. Got it. Yes." He ran a hand through his hair and winced at a painful lump on the back of his head. He might have hit the sidewalk when the explosion had thrown him. "I… I'm sorry. I can't pay. All my money was in the motel." He felt sick at the sight of the burning motel. At least the others hadn't been in the room. He could hardly help Ash, what would he have done if Max had needed to be carried out? Or Shorter? They were both bigger and taller than Ash. If everyone had been in the room during the explosion someone would have surely died.

Ash was carried into the ambulance on a gurney and Shunichi was helped in where he took a seat and tried to stay out of the way. He needed to contact Max. And Shorter. Shorter would panic when he came back and found the motel on fire. Poor Shorter. He had such a tender heart; such a warm, sensitive nature.

**Shorter- **

"I'm gonna beat you into the ground!" Shorter slammed both hands down on the table top and half-stood over the man sitting at the table with him. "I'm gonna beat you and then I'll stomp you and then, when that's done, I'll shovel up what's left, put it in a barbecue pit, and burn it!"

The man who sat with Shorter, copied his moves and also half-stood up with the palms on his hands on the table between them. "You've got a big mouth for a runny-nosed kid!"

"I can back up it up, too!" Shorter thumped his chest with a fist. "I'll have you know this," he ran a hand over his mohawk. "Is the height of fashion!"

"And I say any dude that dyes his hair a sissy color shouldn't complain when he gets called a sissy!"

Shorter brayed out a laugh. "Sissy? What are you? In the third grade? I've heard better insults from ten-year-olds!" It was all going according to plan. Shorter had done similar schemes many times in the past when he'd needed a few bucks and the blow-hard in front of him who insulted Shorter's magnificent hair was the perfect target. "You wanna see who's the tough-guy here?" Shorter sat back down and slammed his elbow on the table top with his hand raised in the air. "Arm wrestle!"

The bar Shorter was in was more up-scale than he was accustomed to, but still common enough to stink of beer and sweat. Shorter had walked from the motel until he'd found the bar and it had only taken ten minutes or so. With his hands stuck in the pockets of his insulated vest, Shorter stood outside and eyed the bar with professional detachment. The building was old, the sign over the door proclaiming the name - DUSTY DEVIL - was faded, the paint peeling. There were a few cars, two pick-ups, and a half-dozen motorcycles parked outside on a parking lot that had several security lights. Two people left, their arms wrapped around each other, and another entered. The Dusty Devil was a popular spot. The trucks were clean, polished and shining under the lights. The cars were high-end, mostly. The motorcycles were well-cared for. Shorter had to admire them, for a moment. They were makes that he'd never be able to afford. The patrons had money to spend and he was going to be very happy to take it off their hands. He'd be back to the others with money for their quest in less than an hour.

The mark laughed at Shorter's challenge. "Are you kidding me, small fry?"

Shorter smirked. "What's wrong? Don't want to fail in front of your buddies? You don't think you can take me?"

"A kid like you? I'd break your skinny wrist!" The man sat back down, across from Shorter. He was bigger than Shorter, but not by much. He wore a leather vest with a biker gang symbol on the back, just like three other men in the bar.

Shorter snorted. "Some threat. Put your money where your mouth is?" He pulled a ten dollar bill out of his pocket and slapped it onto the table. "Or maybe you shouldn't. I wouldn't want to aggravate your arthritis, grandpa."

In less than thirty seconds, they had a crowd gathered around and money on the table waiting to be claimed. They both put elbows on the table and clasped hands. Shorter could feel the strength of the other man and felt a surge of eager anticipation. The guys in his gang wouldn't go against him out of respect. Ash wouldn't arm wrestle because he knew very well that when it came down to brute strength, Shorter had him beat hands down. So it wasn't often that Shorter had a chance to test his strength. This opponent was no easy mark and Shorter looked forward to the challenge.

The self-appointed judge of the contest, a woman who dressed like a teenager, but looked more like a grandma, shouted, "Go!" And they were off.

Shorter strained against the man and had to work at it, but, in the end, he slammed his opponent's hand down on the table top and won. He started to put the money in his pocket when another man from the crowd stepped forward and asked for a match. He'd bet twenty bucks. Shorter obligingly took his money, too. Four opponents and one sore arm later and Shorter had a hundred and fifty bucks in his pocket. He was ready to take on another challenger when a loud noise shook the building.

The noise was awful, like a hundred cracks of thunder all at once, and so horrible that glass in one of the bar's windows cracked. There was the shattering of glass as bottles of booze fell off their shelves and broke on the floor. People shouted, fell over, ran for the door, or just panicked. Shorter shoved his money in his pocket and ran out the door. His head whipped this way and that as he looked for the source of the chaos and, when he found it, his heart nearly froze at the sight. Down the road, near the motel, there was an orange glow in the night sky. Near the motel. Where the others were. Where Ash was helpless.

Shorter took off running and didn't stop until he reached the motel.

There were people in night clothes standing around, staring in horror. Firefighters. An ambulance racing away. Orange fire lit the night in the most fearful way. Shorter looked around at the gathered people. He didn't see any familiar faces. "Max! Eiji!" He didn't see the truck. "Ibe!"

"Hey! Hey, calm down!" Someone grabbed Shorter's arm and when he turned he found that it was one of the firefighters. The man looked exhausted and had soot on his face. "You looking for someone?"

"My friends. I don't see them. Damn! They're still in there!" He took only one step towards the motel when the firefighter grabbed him with hands that were shockingly strong. He wouldn't have wanted to arm wrestle a firefighter. "Let me go, man! My guys are in there!"

"Stop that!" The firefighter spun Shorter around and looked him square in the eyes. "It's too dangerous to go back in. Who are you looking for? We sent some people to the hospital; maybe that's where your friends are. A blonde teenage boy and an Asian man with a beard?"

Shorter's shoulders sunk with relief. "Thank God! There were two others. A big guy with dark blonde hair and a little Asian teenager."

The firefighter nodded. "Yeah. They were just here, too. I sent them off to the hospital. It's Grand General Hospital." He gave Shorter directions before he had to head back to battling the flames.

Shorter ran for the hospital. The town was so small that he knew there wouldn't be any public transit or taxies or anything else, especially so late at night. So, he ran.

He'd only gone about five minutes before he saw the little car sitting on the side of the road. For some reason, he just happened to glance at the driver. Red hair. A cigarette in her mouth. Ibe's stalker. Max had said her name was Charlotte Nesbin. Shorter stumbled for a moment. He stared and then he knew. He knew it was her. She had done it. She'd blown up the motel. She must have. A hot coal of fury burned in Shorter's gut. He heard a growl escape his mouth as he started towards the car. It was her fault. She scared Ibe. She'd informed to Golzine. Got Ash's step-mom killed. Now, his people were in a hospital and he didn't know if they had a few cuts or if they were dying and it was HER FAULT! He was going to kill her.

The car suddenly turned on and she pulled away from the shoulder of the road. Shorter put out a burst of speed, as if to catch the car, but she was already speeding down the street and, in moments, she turned a curve in the road and vanished from sight.

Left alone on that street, with all the noise from the crowd and the sound of the burning motel and the darkness all around, he realized something dreadful. Something utterly terrifying. Charlotte was headed towards the hospital.

**To be continued...**


	9. Oxygen

**Chapter 9: Oxygen**

At the hospital, Shunichi stepped out of the back of the ambulance and waited while the paramedics carried Ash out. He followed them into the hospital, but they were immediately surrounded by nurses and orderlies and doctors, all snapping questions, talking over each other. Shunichi blinked and Ash had been wheeled away. Shunichi had tried to follow, but another nurse took him by the arm and led him away for his own examination.

Shunichi was taken to small room and told to sit on a tall bed where he was put through very thorough tests after his hands were cared for. One hand burned and one with cuts from the broken window at the motel meant that Shunichi ended up with both hands wrapped in bandages.

"There. Can you move your fingers?" Nurse Jackson, who was in change of Shunichi, was a gentle soul, soft-spoken and serious. He was very young, barely older than Eiji, but he clearly knew his business well enough. He'd been calm and confident while cleaning Shunichi's hands and kept up mild, easy conversation that almost succeeded at putting Shunichi at ease.

"I can move them well. Thank you. Do you know anything about my nephew? Henry?"

"He's being well looked after. Don't worry about him; he's got the best doctors and nurses taking care of him. We need to look after you, right now." Nurse Jackson listened to Shunichi's heart and lungs, took his temperature, and looked into his throat. "How's your throat feeling?"

Shunichi called up a smile for Nurse Jackson. "I can hardly taste the smoke anymore. Thank you." It had been more than a little sore, but that was quickly fading.

"You're doing very well and you're very lucky. The doctor will be in soon to see you, but I don't think you'll have to stay here even one night. Now, can you tell me about your throat. Here." Nurse Jackson reached out and lightly touched his fingers to Shunichi's throat. "You're bruised, here." He gave Shunichi a serious look, that was somehow both compassionate and comfortingly clinical. "It looks like hands. Like someone had their hands on your throat."

Shunichi went pale.

"I saw your nephew when he was brought in. He's not exactly a big bruiser, is he? His hands are very small, almost delicate. These bruises were made by someone with very big hands. I don't believe your nephew did this to you."

"What? No. No, of course he didn't!" Shunichi was understandably affronted that anyone would think such a thing about a nice boy like Ash. True, Ash was an admitted killer and he was entirely too comfortable with a gun in his hand, but there was no reason for people to go around assuming things about him! "He wouldn't. He's a good boy."

"Then who did?"

Shunichi stayed silent.

"You can tell me. I only want to help. You shouldn't be in a situation where someone's hurting you."

"No one's hurting me. It's fine. I'm just fine." And he stuck to that story despite Nurse Jackson's urging and even when a doctor was brought in to explain the different support services Shunichi was able to take advantage of and telephone help-lines and counselors and social workers, he was told of statistics of domestic violence and that he wasn't alone, there were people who wanted to help him.

Still, he denied that anyone was hurting him. He certainly wasn't going to mention that his good friend had severe flashbacks and had tried to kill him in the grip of one. That was no one's business but his and Max's. Instead, he raised both hands to stop everyone from speaking at him. "Please, I am perfectly fine and well. No one I care about is trying to hurt me, honestly! Please worry for my nephew. He looked so dreadful. Has he woken, yet? Can I see him?"

Nurse Jackson gave Shunichi a warm smile. "Of course you can. I can bring you right to him."

Shunichi discharged himself, signed all the necessary paperwork and even spoke briefly to a police officer about the fire at the motel though he had nothing useful to tell, before Nurse Jackson escorted him to Ash's room. He didn't mention anything else about the bruises on Shunichi's throat, for which Shunichi was grateful. He was going to have enough trouble comforting Max when Max realized he'd left such bruises from trying to strangle Shunichi.

Ash was a pitiful sight - pale and small in the hospital bed. "He was dirty," Shunichi said, without thinking. "Soot, from the fire."

"He was washed up and his clothes cleaned." Nurse Jackson gestured to a small pile of nicely folded clothes - clearly, Ash's jeans and shirt - sitting on a small bedside table before he looked at a chart hung on the foot of the bed and smiled, reassuringly. "He's doing well. Very well."

Shunichi felt something sour in his stomach turn. Ash wouldn't like it. He would not have liked being washed and dressed while he was unconscious. Ash's fair hair had been brushed away from his face and an oxygen mask had been placed over his mouth and nose. He looked weak and that was becoming entirely too familiar with all the boys. Maybe it was time to take them all home to Japan. He would have to bring Shorter's sister with them, but that wouldn't cause any trouble. She'd raised Shorter, after all, she must be a perfectly respectable young lady. He'd bring them all to Japan to have a safe life, somewhere where they could go to school and take a simple walk without the need for a weapon.

A hand on Ash's forehead reassured Shunichi that Ash's fever had begun to drop, already. Whatever medicine they'd given him worked beautifully.

"It was a nasty case of the flu," Nurse Jackson told Shunichi. "His lungs also took a beating from the smoke, so he's on oxygen for now." He pointed to a sign that hung on the wall over Ash's bed that read: NO FLAMES. OXYGEN IN USE. "He had a few bumps and bruises, but on the whole he's going to be just fine."

Shunichi had never felt so relieved. He sat in the chair next to Ash's bed and put his hands over his face and thanked God. Eiji would be so happy. And Max. And Shorter. He was going to have to find everyone and he didn't even know the numbers of the burner phones everyone carried. He'd been so afraid he'd have to tell everyone that Ash had been killed. Eiji would have been destroyed. Max would have blamed himself and gotten depressed. Shorter... Shunichi wasn't exactly sure how Shorter would have reacted, except that it wouldn't be a pretty sight. He was fairly certain blood would be involved.

But Ash was fine. He would wake up soon and everything would be well.

Nurse Jackson left and, for a very short time, Shunichi was left alone with Ash. Shunichi slouched, staring down at his shoes. How had it all happened? What a disaster. The fire had probably been nothing more than an accident. Just bad luck. But what if it had been something more sinister? What if...

He shook his head. _'Don't think like that. Everyone is alive. Everyone is fine. Ash is strong, he'll wake up soon and then we'll go. Everything is fine and not all bad luck is due to the syndicate or crazy women.' _And why had the crazy woman picked him to stalk, anyway?

Shunichi sat with his head in his hands and felt sick. Why him? Why had she fixated on him? It wasn't as if he was attractive. He was plain, at best. So ordinary that he blended in with any crowd. So... why him? Stalkers always went after beautiful movie stars and such, didn't they? Why would anyone fixate on him? It made no sense. He wasn't special. He wasn't anyone that someone would want to obsess over. Shunichi began to think back to everything that had happened since they'd gone to Max's hideout after Ash's failed assassination attempt which, he knew, had been when Charlotte Nesbin had first seen him. He must have done something or said something... he'd done something wrong. He must have. He felt so guilty that he'd brought all this trouble on his friends, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what he'd done wrong.

The door opened slowly before Max popped his head in. He gave a broad grin, full of happiness and genuine pleasure. "Shunichi! Thank God! We felt the explosion down at the store."

Eiji peered around Max's arm, then hurried in and gave Shunichi a warm hug. "I'm so glad you're alright! You are alright, aren't you? No injuries?" He started looking Shunichi up and down as if to find some damage the doctors had missed. "You're not hurt? We were so worried! Ash looks awful. Your beard's singed! Ash is still so pale." For a moment, Eiji flitted between Shunichi and Ash, as if he couldn't decide who needed to be fussed over more.

"I'm fine. Nothing to worry about. Go sit with Ash," Shunichi said, taking Eiji by the arm and pointing him at Ash. He was glad to see Eiji go without further trouble and make himself at home sitting at Ash's side. Eiji took Ash's hand and patted it, in a caring gesture.

Max closed the door behind him. "We had to sneak in," he said, softly. "Wasn't sure what story you'd give anyone so it seemed better to sneak in and talk to you, first. You okay?"

Shunichi reassured them both that Ash was well and recovering from both the smoke he'd breathed in and the fever. Eiji busied himself with tidying Ash's hair and straightening the blankets while Max read the chart hanging at the end of the bed.

"Looks like nothing too awful," Max said, happily. "We'll be out of here in no time."

Seeing Max took a great weight from Shunichi's shoulders. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you both. The motel burned and Ash won't wake up and everyone here thinks there's someone beating me and I don't know what to do! I told them Ash is my nephew and we were waiting for his father; is that bad? I wasn't sure. If I gave his real name, Golzine would find him. I remembered we talked about that when Shorter got hurt so I invented a name." Shunichi paced the room with nervous energy as he spoke. "How could this all happen?"

"Hey, hey! Calm down. Everything's alright, now. We'll figure out what to do. So, you already told the staff that you're Ash's uncle and you are expecting his father to show up. Right?"

Shunichi felt sick, sure that he'd done something wrong or not good enough. "Yes. I knew you'd show up, so I thought I should have a way to explain you so I thought you could be Ash's father. Is... is that wrong?"

"No. No, it's fine. Calm down. Did you actually tell anyone that I'm Ash's dad?"

"No. Just that we were waiting for his dad."

"Right. That's fine. Let me think a moment. We need a good story to get him out of there before they call the cops."

"The police have already been here, questioning me about the explosion." He honestly didn't know what to do. What lie to tell? Whether or not to lie? Sneak Ash away? Or just wait and hope not a single hospital employee had heard about the Amber Alert. It was possible, after all, that no one in this area had heard anything about it; they were quite a distance from New York, after all. "Everyone's asking a lot of questions. They think someone's hurting me. I'm sure I heard someone say that Ash is underweight. I thought we were feeding him enough. Did we make him sick?"

Max made a soothing sound. "Hey, don't get yourself worked up. This isn't the worst situation, you know. You and Ash might have been killed in that explosion. Ash might have died from the fever if you hadn't noticed it rising so quickly. Everything's okay." Max ran a hand over his chin and looked up, a sure sign he was thinking.

Eiji quietly said, "Can we find Shorter, now? I want everyone together."

Nodding his head in agreement, Shunichi turned to Max. "How do we find Shorter? He didn't say exactly where he was going."

"We'll find him. I'm not all that worried; the kid knows how to look out for himself. He'll be fine and he can't leave the town with all the roads closed. Now, about the cops - If they show up to talk to you about..."

"About what?"

Shunichi, Max, and Eiji all turned and found a police woman, small and thin with a serious set to her lips, standing in the doorway, watching them.

"Ah..." Max scratched at the back of his head as he often did when he was nervous. "Hello."

"Hello. What were you saying? 'If they show up to talk to you about...'?"

"About the boy, of course." Max gestured towards Ash. "I was just telling my friend, here, that there's nothing to worry about. He was worried about talking to the police. I just wanted to tell him that everything will be fine if he tells the truth."

"Right." The police woman turned her attention to Shunichi. Her expression softened and it took Shunichi a moment to realize it was because he'd been fidgeting with the collar of his shirt and it must have brought her attention to the bruises on his throat. He quickly stuck his hands in his pocket. "Mister Matoh? I have some questions for you."

Shunichi felt his stomach turn. "Yes. I understand."

Max cleared his throat and leaned a little close to the police woman. "His English isn't always great."

"That's no trouble. Mister Matoh, I'm Officer Brava and I have a few questions."

"I told the policeman about the fire. I don't know more."

"It's not about the fire. Won't you come with me for a few minutes?" She gestured to the door.

Doubtfully, Shunichi looked at Max.

"Don't worry. Cops are the good-guys. She won't hurt you." Max gave a reassuring smile. "I'll keep an eye on them," he glanced over at Eiji and Ash. "You go ahead."

Shunichi followed Officer Brava down the hall to what seemed to be a little waiting room with a small sofa and two easy-chairs. They sat together on the sofa and Shunichi tried very hard to look confidant and at ease. He rather suspected that he failed by the look of sympathy on Officer Brava's face.

"Mister Matoh, let me start by saying that I don't think you've done anything wrong. However, there are a few worrying matters. Your nephew, Henry, looks very much like a missing boy from New York. We've already taken his fingerprints and we're waiting to have him properly identified. Please, be honest with me - is that boy really your nephew?"

Shunichi felt himself go cold. He swallowed hard. He needed a good lie. "No. Not really. You see, we met him in New York and he said he wanted to go to Arizona."

"Why?"

"He said he wanted to go back to his family. New York was dangerous, he said. He isn't missing. He's going home."

"You told the firefighters that you were waiting for Henry's father at the motel, that he'd gone to get food."

Shunichi blinked, caught in that lie. "Sorry. No, sorry. Max is right - my English isn't good. We are waiting to get to his father. My friend went to get food."

"That man? Max?"

"Yes. Max is my friend. Very good friend."

"I see." Officer Brava took out a notebook and wrote a few lines down. "Then why do you call Henry your nephew?"

It took no effort at all for an affectionate - and entirely honest - smile to spread across Shunichi's face. "He started calling me uncle, out of fondness. He said he never had an uncle so... I thought it did no harm. Is it bad?"

"No. Not bad, I'm just trying to get the facts. Can you tell me about Henry's injuries?"

"The nurse said he had breathed in smoke. He has a fever - the flu."

"No, I meant the older injuries. He has old broken bones, scars, something that looks very much like a recent bullet wound on his right shoulder. Do you know anything about those?"

Just thinking about all the horrible injuries Ash had bourn over the years made Shunichi's mood dip further. "I'm sorry. I don't know. He didn't say. He wants to go home. We are going to California, so we give him a ride to Arizona."

"You didn't think it odd that a child was asking for a ride from strangers?"

Shunichi blinked. "He isn't a child. He is in college. He said so. He is nineteen."

"Did he show you any proof of that?"

Shunichi tried to make his eyes look as big and innocent as Eiji's. He thought of puppies and kittens and rainbows and hoped that he could make Officer Brava believe him. "Proof? You think he lied? No. Why would he?"

Officer Brava's cool expression melted away. She shook her head and gave a little smile. "I see. Thank you for your time. Don't worry about anything. And," she leaned forward a little, "About your throat- "

Shunichi almost groaned. "Please, it's not important. It doesn't even hurt. I have been given advice and phone numbers and I really am fine. I am good. No one is hurting me."

"The bruises on your throat tell me that you're lying." She said it without any condemnation or blame- she was merely stating a fact. "Can you tell me how you got the bruises?"

Officer Brava looked patient, her hands folded on her lap, as if she was more than willing to wait for an hour to get an answer. So he said, "It was an accident. Please, don't ask more. It..." Shunichi sighed. He could explain it all if he were willing to talk a bout Max's mental state, but he wasn't. Not without Max's permission. "It is private. I am safe. I promise I am safe."

Officer Brava stared at Shunichi for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. I'll take you at your word. Just remember about the help lines and the advice you were given. Now, I think I have all I need from you for right now. You'll be staying here with the boy? Henry?"

"Yes, officer. May I go? I would like to be there when Henry wakes up."

She let him go and he quickly went back to Ash's room. Eiji had fallen asleep, with his head resting on his crossed forearms on Ash's bed. It was an absolutely adorable sight and Shunichi had never wished for his camera more than that moment. Eiji's thick hair was a stark contrast against the pristine white bed sheets. Ash's right hand rested limply near Eiji's head. He wished he could show the scene to the boys.

"Yeah." Max stood by the window and spoke softly into his cell phone, clearly not wanting to wake the boys. "I know it's a lot to ask, but... yeah. No. Well, mafia, cops, social workers... pretty much everyone is on our case. Can you help?" He broke out in a broad smile. "Thanks, Bo! I can't tell you... yeah. I know. Right, right, I'll keep my mouth shut and let you do your thing. Thanks, again. Soon as this is all done and everyone's safe, I'll swing by with a six-pack for you." He hung up the phone and looked at Shunichi with that brilliant smile. "Our troubles here are about to be over."

"Over?" Shunichi stared at him in disbelieve. "Max, I think everyone in this building believes you're my abusive boyfriend. They're going to find out about Ash any minute. They took his fingerprints! That policewoman knows I'm lying through my teeth. She'll be in to talk to you, next, I'm sure." He quickly told Max all the lies he'd told the policewoman, just in case, and when he was done he said, "How are our problems over?"

"That was Bo," Max gave his phone a little shake before he shoved it back in his pocket. "You remember? He gave us money and stuff right after we left Cape Cod? He's gonna fix things."

Shunichi blinked. "Fix things? How?"

"He's got... well... connections. He knows people. People owe him favors. It's best not to ask too many questions. The point is - everything is going to be fine. We'll stay as long as Ash needs to and then be on our way. It's not as if we can go far, anyway; the roads are still all flooded. I guess we're lucky they even had a hospital in this little town. Got to be the smallest hospital I ever saw."

It was tiny. The whole place was only two stories tall and couldn't have had more than a few dozen rooms for patients. That aside, they had treated Ash quickly and efficiently, giving him all the care he needed to start a speedy recovery. His temperature had dropped and his color improved greatly.

"You're sure your friend can help?" Shunichi asked, doubtfully as he took off his coat and put it over Eiji's shoulders to keep him warm. "I don't want to take the chance of Ash being snatched away right under our noses if Golzine gets his people here."

"Well," Max scratched the back of his head. "Bo has a lot of connections, but I don't think he'd deal with Golzine. He sooner take a shotgun to Golzine than work with him. So, there won't be any help on that front, but the cops won't bother us and the doctors, here, will stop asking questions." He gave Shunichi a friendly slap on the shoulder that nearly knocked him over. "You stay here with the kids and I'm going to go find someone who can tell me how long until Ash can leave."

Max had been gone no longer than thirty seconds when the door opened, quietly, and there, with the light from the hall shining around her, stood Charlotte Nesbin.

Shunichi's mouth went dry. He felt like his heart froze in his chest along with all the blood in his veins.

It seemed like a long while that they just stood there and stared at each other, neither one moving or speaking. Charlotte smiled, but there was a strained, pinched look around her lips and eyes. There was something wild in her eyes, something almost frantic and it frightened Shunichi. He darted a glance at the bed where Ash and Eiji still slept then looked back at Charlotte. He did his best to steel his spine, no matter how she frightened him. "You need to leave. Now. Please."

Her lips turned down, just a little, at the corners. Then she pulled from her pocket a cigarette lighter and raised a meaningful eyebrow. She whispered, "You're going to be sensible, aren't you, Shunichi?"

Slowly, Shunichi turned and looked at the sign over Ash's bed.

**NO FLAMES. OXYGEN IN USE.**

He wasn't exactly sure what would happen if she lit her lighter, but he did pass high school chemistry. Oxygen was flammable and it was hooked right on Ash's face. Eiji was too close for comfort, too. The hospital staff surely wouldn't have put up the sign if there were no danger. He swallowed hard.

"Please, you have to stop this," Shunichi pleaded. "I don't- "

"You're going to come with me, Shunichi." She spoke very calmly, too calmly for a woman on the verge of killing two helpless kids. "I've given it a lot of thought and I'm sorry if you're worried about your kid, but I just can't wait anymore. I was going to wait until you could get him away from Max, but I can't wait. I can't wait." Her eyes went very wide and she spoke softly, but her grip on the lighter was nothing short of a nightmare for Shunichi. "Why won't you understand? I love you. More than anything in the world, I love you. I'll do anything for you. I left my job for you. I traveled half-way across the country to find you. I called those people to come get the blonde boy because I hoped they'd take Max away, too, and I could get to you. I blew up the motel." She smiled and took another step towards Shunichi. "I will do ANYTHING to be with you. And... and if you don't want to be with me... If I can't have you then I think we'd both be better off dead."

She was serious.

It wasn't some bluff or elaborate, sick joke. She was serious.

Shunichi held up both hands and inched his way to stand in front of Ash and Eiji even though he knew, logically, that it would do nothing to save them if she decided to spark a flame. "They're just kids. Don't do this." For all that Ash was a dangerous boy, an admitted killer, ruthless and cunning, he was a child - a child who needed to be protected. And Eiji was practically Shunichi's little brother. He wouldn't let anything happen to them if he could prevent it. "Don't hurt them."

"I don't want to hurt anyone, but you have to come with me. I know you don't believe me now, I get that, but you'll understand. You will. We just need time together and you'll understand we're meant to be."

What choice was there?

Shunichi nodded, slowly. "Alright. Fine. I'll go with you. Let's go, now." The sooner he got her away from the hospital the better. After all, it wasn't just for Ash and Eiji; there were many more people in the hospital and if Charlotte caused another fire, they would all be in danger. He had to lead her away. He'd get away and think of how to escape later. A thought slipped into his mind - what if the lighter wasn't her only weapon? Did she have a gun? He was pretty sure there hadn't been any metal detectors at the hospital entrance. Or a knife? She might have a knife. He suddenly had a hard time breathing and had to force himself to calm down. "We should go now. Right now. Yes?"

Charlotte's smile brightened. "Yes. I'm so glad you've come around. And you shouldn't worry about them." Still, she didn't so much as look at Ash and Eiji. "After all, they don't need you."

It was like a stab to the chest for Shunichi. He'd had that exact same thought many times since they'd run from New York. He was utterly useless. He couldn't fight, couldn't shoot a gun. He didn't have any of the contacts Max had. Didn't have any of the street sense Shorter and Ash had. He wasn't even able to defend himself. So what good was he to them? If he took a moment to think about it, it was pretty obvious that they were better off without him. They'd probably get to California much faster without him to slow them down. And without him, they wouldn't have the crazy woman dogging their heels everywhere they went.

Charlotte said, "You know I'm right, don't you? They don't need you. They'll be fine. As soon as we go, they'll be out of here and on the road again. They'll forget you in a heartbeat."

**Ash-**

_'__No,' _Ash thought. Every part of him felt weak, pained. He couldn't speak, couldn't even move enough to open his eyes. His head was cloudy from sleep and he struggled to wake. He heard the conversation as if it were a million miles away. He tried so hard to speak. _'She's lying. Don't listen. Don't go.'_

**Shunichi-**

He would go with her, because there was no choice. If he went, even for just a little while, the others would have time to get away before Golzine's people came. If he could get Charlotte far enough away, she wouldn't be able to find Max and the kids, surely. He could always escape her, later. Shunichi raised his hands up in front of him, palms outward. "I'll go with you, but you have to leave them alone. They haven't done anything wrong."

She frowned. "Max..."

"Max is my friend. I don't want him to get hurt."

"Alright. If it makes you happy." She motioned for him to the leave the room.

Shunichi went to Ash and took his hand, limp and warm. He kept his voice soft so as to not wake Eiji. "Ash, if you can hear me - I'm so sorry about all this trouble. Max will take care of everything, I'm sure of it. Get well. I... I hope you..." Hope what? Hope he got revenge? Hope that he didn't die? What sort of awful things were those to say to a child, no matter how true they were? So he settled on the most important hope he had for Ash. "I hope you find happiness. Take care of yourself." He squeezed Ash's hand, then let go and followed Charlotte out of the room.

**Ash-**

_'__NO!' _Ash wanted to scream. He wanted to grab Ibe-san by the shoulders and shake him. _'Don't go with crazy people! She'll hurt you! She'll kill you!'_

He heard footsteps and Ibe-san asked, "Where are you taking me?"

Charlotte Nesbin answered, "Somewhere we can be alone. We can talk. We should talk." More footsteps. "We're going to be together for a long time, after all."

**To be continued...**


	10. Flew

**Chapter 10: Flew**

Ash had listened with growing agitation while that crazy Nesbin woman threatened Ibe-san. Ash was nearly awake. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on and his mind hovered lazily on the brink between sleep and wakefulness, but he heard Ibe-san's disturbed voice and an unfamiliar woman's voice. The short conversation only lasted a few minutes, but it drew Ash's mind steadily away from sleep.

It was that Nesbin woman, Ash knew. What other woman would be threatening Ibe-san?

He tried to open his eyes, tried to speak, but nothing worked. He managed to twitch a finger, but nothing else. Drugs, he thought. He must have been given drugs to make him so sluggish. He was in a bed. It was very soft and there was a blanket covering him. The room was warm. Something was on his face. A mask? An oxygen mask. He breathed in a little deeper while he listened to the conversation.

There were threats and Ash heard the nervous shiver in Ibe-san's voice when he all but begged the woman for mercy. Ash would kill Nesbin. One bullet right through the heart, or between the eyes, and the problem would be gone. If he hadn't been so sick, he never would have let it go so far. He could have killed her; he'd killed many more experienced people, people far stronger and more intelligent than Charlotte Nesbin, for far less reason than threatening one of his few friends.

Was Ibe-san a friend?

Ash wasn't sure. He wasn't even really certain an adult could be a kid's friend, but Ibe-san was kind and gentle and always there in the middle of danger just for their sake. If he wasn't a friend, then he was something darned close to a friend and Ash wasn't about to just lay around when his 'something-darned-close-to-a-friend' was in mortal danger.

Ash remembered how gentle and easy Ibe-san had been when Ash had wet himself. No one was ever that good to him, not since Blanca. He remembered the sensible concern Ibe-san had shown over Eiji learning how to shoot a gun. He remembered Ibe-san being quiet and respectful when he'd been in the hang-out Ash's gang used, how he'd been kind to all the guys in the gang when he'd gone there for the interview. He remembered Ibe-san smiling kindly when he'd gone with Eiji to visit Ash in prison. He got medicine for Ash's cough. He was good to Ash - mysteriously, unnecessarily kind - just like Max.

_'__Don't get hurt for me. Please, don't go.'_

Ibe-san did go. He left with Nesbin and Ash couldn't do a thing to stop them.

Drugged. He must have been drugged. He pushed himself away from sleep with all his will. He felt weak and helpless, but still he fought to wake himself. To be left powerless and vulnerable... what a nightmare. It was as bad as getting drunk. Dino had insisted that Ash be able to drink like an adult at the social gatherings he took Ash to and had given Ash his first taste of alcohol at twelve-years-old. Ash had managed to get drunk at the first party Dino took him to and woke up the next day in one of Dino's guest rooms with a fearsome headache and no idea how he'd sprained his ankle. Dino had made sure to demonstrate his displeasure with Ash. Ash still had a scar on his back from that demonstration.

He took another breath and woke a little more. Everything was a mix of shades of darkness, but he pushed himself closer to the feel of clean cotton bed sheets. His feet were bare, his hair freshly washed. He moved closer to the smell of antiseptic and the steady 'beep-beep' of some machine. His eyes felt sore and tired and his throat was dry. He blinked and the unfamiliar ceiling came into view.

Hospital.

He was in a hospital.

Why the Hell was he in a hospital? Hadn't they been camping? Or... or at a motel with ugly wallpaper? He wasn't sure. His memory seemed misty and gray and he didn't like that at all.

The smell of antiseptic was heavy in the air, like invisible fog. He was in a bed with a cotton blanket and cream colored bed sheets. He looked down at himself and realized he was wearing a pale blue hospital johnny instead of his clothes and that sent a primal shock of both fear and anger - a nauseating mix, all too familiar - and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to get control of himself.

Someone had taken off his clothes and put the thin johnny on him. Someone's hands had been on him. He shuddered. Gross. Unless it was Max or Ibe-san. He wouldn't have minded them very much. Or Eiji or Shorter. He rather suspected that it had been some nurse or orderly or other stranger. Definitely gross.

Eiji was with Ash, sound asleep with his head resting on his arms on the side of Ash's bed. There was no one else in the room. Eiji looked wonderfully peaceful as he slept. It felt like a crime to wake him so Ash didn't. After all, Eiji would probably worry and panic about Ibe-san and then he would want to rush to the rescue. Ash didn't want Eiji to go anywhere near the nut-case.

_'__Gotta save Ibe-san.'_

Ash pulled the plastic oxygen mask off his face and sat up. His whole body ached fiercely and his throat and chest hurt. He suddenly remembered that they'd all been at the river, talking around the campfire. He thought he might have embarrassed himself, but couldn't quite remember what he'd said. They'd left the river and... there had been a motel. Definitely. He was sure there had been a motel. He remembered getting to the motel and laying down on the blankets on the floor, all stiff and aching with a fierce headache and a rolling stomach. He'd been so sure that he would humiliate himself by throwing up, but if he had, he didn't remember.

There was no time to worry about it.

Ash rubbed his face with his hands. He didn't feel good, exactly, but he certainly felt better than he had. His joints still ached, but the headache was gone and his stomach seemed to have settled.

Feeling better wasn't feeling good, but it was good enough.

Ash slipped off the bed as gently as he could and managed not to wake Eiji. He found his clothes carefully folded next to the bed on a little bedside table. He yanked on his jeans and grabbed his shirt, but froze when he realized something was missing.

His gun. Where was his gun?

Ash found his socks, his shoes, his wallet still containing his fake I.D., but there was no sign of his gun. He looked again and felt panic rise in his chest. He needed his gun. He never went out without it if he had any say in the matter. How did he get to the hospital? Had doctors found it and confiscated it? Had a cop brought him in? If the cops had found his gun, that was a whole new can of worms opened up. He needed his gun. He really needed to shoot Charlotte Nesbin. He wasn't blood-thirsty by nature, but she was causing trouble and had proven herself to be a threat to Ibe-san who was one of Ash's guys. They all were, in Ash's opinion. Max, Ibe-san, Shorter, and Eiji were all Ash's guys and he always took care of his guys. Ask anyone in his gang and they'd swear up and down that Ash looked out for them. So he needed his gun to take care of his guys. He felt down-right undressed without the comfortable weight sitting snugly at the small of his back, tucked into the waist of his jeans.

But there was no gun and Ibe-san was with the loony.

So he pulled on his clothes as quickly as he could and tossed the johnny on the bed. The fog from the drugs began to clear, but he didn't feel altogether steady. It didn't matter. He had to find Ibe-san. And find the others. Max... Shorter... thankfully, at least he knew where Eiji was. He took a step towards the door, but his knees shook and he nearly fell. Ash grit his teeth and forced himself to keep standing. He couldn't afford to be weak, not when people needed him.

Ash had his hand on the handle of the room's door when voices floated in and he paused to listen to whoever was on the other side of the door.

Max said, "Don't worry about it. It's just a misunderstanding and I sure am glad to know that there are people out there like you who are so enthusiastic in looking out for kids. If the boy had been in danger, you'd have probably saved his life."

An unfamiliar voice replied, "Thank you for being so understanding. When I realized how much he resembled that boy missing from New York, I just wanted to do whatever I could to help. It's uncanny how much they resemble each other. They could be twins. I'm glad our administrator was able to speak with Agent Singer so we could get this all sorted out before Henry woke up and got upset." The voice turned sad. "Unfortunately, it means that poor boy, Ash Lynx, is still missing."

They talked for a few more minutes and all the while, Ash waited nervously. He wanted his gun. He really wanted his gun and hoped Max had it. He was acutely aware that every second that passed by meant that Ibe-san was getting further away from them and deeper in danger.

"Well," Max said. "Wherever he is, I'm sure Ash would be happy to know there are good people like you who are concerned for him. Excuse me, I should go see how the kid's doing."

Ash moved away from the door just in time to avoid getting smacked on the nose by it and pushed the door closed behind Max.

"Hey, kid!" Max gave Ash a big, cheery smile. "You look miles better!"

"Never mind that," Ash snapped. "Where the Hell is my gun? Where's Shorter? What's going on?"

"You lost your gun? Damn. I don't know where Shorter is, but we'll find him. Don't worry; you know he can take care of himself." Max reached out and put his palm against Ash's forehead. Ash allowed it for a few moments before he wiggled away. "You look better, kid. Still a bit warm , but..."

"No time for that. Ibe-san's gone."

"What?" Max's eyes narrowed in that way they did when he was worried. "Where?"

"That crazy neighbor of yours!"

"Charlotte Nesbin is here?" Max's eyes had gone very wide. "The Hell? Does she have a tracker on him or something?"

"She was in the hospital room and I couldn't wake up fast enough. She took him and left. She stole him!" Ash realized the moment he said it that he sounded incredibly childish, but he didn't correct himself. That woman HAD stolen Ibe-san and he wouldn't let her get away with it. "Why am I in a hospital? What's going on?"

Max huffed out an unhappy breath. "The motel blew up with you in it and your fever spiked, that's what's going on. Shunichi ran into a burning, half-collapsed motel to pull you out and he got himself a bit beat up doing it. Look, everything's alright so keep it together. My friend called the hospital's administrator and convinced them he was from the FBI and that you aren't the Ash that everyone's looking for. That takes a little of the heat off us. Let's collect Eiji and get out of here before anything else happens. We'll find Shunichi. I promise."

Ash gave Eiji a shake and he yawned and rubbed his eyes with his fists before he looked up. "Wha- ? Ash? What's going on?" Then he frowned. "Hey! You're supposed to be resting! You got blown up! Shorter went to get money and then Max and I went to get food and then you got blown up and I thought you and Ibe-san were dead." Eiji looked up at Ash with large, watery, puppy-dog eyes. "For a minute, I really thought you'd been killed."

Ash couldn't have felt more like a louse and he hadn't even done anything wrong. He had a powerful urge to apologize even though he'd been sick and sleeping at the time so he really had no idea what he would be apologizing for. He settled for saying, "Well... that's over, now. Ibe-san needs us." Ash frowned and rubbed his throat with a hand. His throat hurt as if he'd been gargling with razor blades. "We gotta go. Ibe-san's gone. That loony woman took him. It's only been a few minutes, so we can still find them."

Eiji's face was twisted up with worry. "Do you... what do you think she'll do to Ibe-san?"

"I don't know." He clenched his hands, angry with himself. "I was half-asleep, but I heard them. I know I heard them - it wasn't a dream. She threatened him, she said she was going to hurt us, and he agreed to leave with her if she'd leave us alone. It was only a few minutes ago. They might still be here." Ash's throat was burning. The pain was horrible and his head wouldn't clear properly. He felt shamefully weak. He swayed unsteadily on his feet and had to catch hold of Eiji's arm to steady himself.

"Damn it, kid," Max grabbed Ash's arm to help him stay on his feet.

Ash shook off the help and steeled himself. "He's not far; he was right here! He can't have gone far."

And then, something most peculiar happened. Something Ash couldn't think of a logical explanation for.

Eiji stood up and raised his face upward, putting his nose as high in the air as he could. Then he inhaled deeply through his nose. He closed his eyes and sniffed, again. "Ash is right. She was here." He opened his eyes, but his face was set in that expression of fearsome determination of his, that same look he'd had the day when he'd pole-vaulted over the wall to escape Marvin and Arthur. "Stay here. I'll get Ibe-san." And, without any further warning, Eiji turned and ran out the door.

"Eiji! Wait!" Ash ran after Eiji with Max right on his heels.

Max and Ash caught up with Eiji near the hospital's entrance and the three of them headed for the pick-up truck. "We should ask the receptionist if anyone with Shunichi's description has left the building with a red-haired woman," Max said. "They might still be in the hospital."

"They aren't!" Eiji shouted over his shoulder. "They left, already."

They were halfway across the parking lot before Ash caught the flare of something purple in the corner of his eye and called out, "Shorter!"

Shorter ran to them, sweating and breathing hard. "That crazy woman is here. White car. Saw her at the motel. I had to run across the damned town to get here." He paused and took a deep breath as he looked around. "Where's Ibe?"

"Take a guess." Ash grumbled as he started for the truck, again.

Within seconds they were in the truck, all of them squashed uncomfortably in the cab as no one was willing to be left behind or ride in the back and be unable to see what was going on. They were nearly in each other's pockets. Max drove, of course, with Shorter and Ash next to him and Eiji, sitting half on Ash's lap, next to the window. Eiji put down the window and told Max, "I'll tell you where to go." Then he leaned half-way out the window, like a dog.

Ash grabbed Eiji around the waist to keep him from falling out. "What are you doing? How do you know where they went?"

"Trust me." Eiji looked at Ash so earnestly and Ash had no better ideas about how to find Ibe-san that he just nodded and off they went. As soon as Max was ready to leave the parking lot, Eiji repeated that strange thing he'd done in the hospital where he tilted his head back and little and sniffed. He said, "Left. Go left, Max!"

Despite all reason, after Eiji ordered two more turns after sniffing the air, they found Charlotte Nesbin's white car in less than five minutes. Ash couldn't explain how Eiji knew where to go, but he did. At just that moment, how Eiji knew didn't matter. The car was there and Ibe-san was inside and in danger. Max hit the accelerator and started to gain ground.

**Shunichi-**

Shunichi was utterly terrified.

He sat in the car, filled with the smell of cigarettes, and felt numb. His hands were on his knees. When Charlotte Nesbin started the car's engine the in the hospital parking lot, his vision had dimmed for a moment, as if he'd faint from fear. Then they pulled onto the road and were off. Dawn was less than an hour away, but the town was still asleep. There was no one on the roads. The town was small enough that there were no stop signs, no traffic lights. The hospital, in fact, seemed to be the biggest business in town. There were none of the big box stores that supplied both employment and goods to most towns, only small businesses like the local gas station, a doggy-daycare, a post office, a tiny fire station, and the like.

"The roads are still closed," Nesbin commented after a time. "The whole town is cut off from the rest of the world because of the flood. That's good, though. It'll give us time to talk before we go home."

"Home?"

"New York, of course."

Of all the places on Earth, New York was just about the last place Shunichi wanted to go. Maybe... maybe he could simply call the police? He still had his cell phone in his pocket. He'd have to wait until they got far enough away from the others so she wouldn't go back and hurt anyone, but-

"Damn it."

The grumble brought Shunichi out of his thoughts and he turned to see Nesbin looking at her rear view mirror. He looked over his shoulder and, in the dim light of approaching dawn, saw a familiar truck, headlights brightening the road.

_'__Max!' _Shunichi felt his heart lurch, partly hope and partly dread. Max had come for him, but Nesbin was dangerous - he had no doubt that she would do something horrible to Max given half a chance. The whole point of him going with Nesbin was to get her away from his friends and now they'd come charging into danger. Shunichi was sure they were all in the truck. Had Max found Shorter? Eiji. Eiji wouldn't have stood for being left behind. What about Ash? Had he woken up? Had something else happened to him?

"Stop the car and let me out," Shunichi said, softly. He felt his heart starting to race. His hands suddenly felt cold. "They won't hurt you. They just want to make sure I'm safe. Honestly."

Nesbin didn't reply. Her eyes were fixed on the road ahead. She began to accelerate.

"Please," Shunichi raised his voice, just a little, trying so very hard to stay calm. "They don't want to hurt anyone. They're worried for me."

"They can't have you. I won't give you up. I won't."

Nothing Shunichi said made any impact on Nesbin. On and on she drove, taking this road and that, speeding around corners and through intersections so wildly that Shunichi had to take a firm grip on the door and was afraid that they'd crash at any moment. He stopped talking to her and the thought crossed his mind that if he simply opened the door and jumped, he might not die. It was entirely possible he would live and then Nesbin would be forced to either stop to get him, in which case Max and the others wouldn't get in an accident trying to keep up with her, or she would keep going to get away from Max and Shunichi could rejoin his friends. He felt quite sick that his on-the-spot plan for keeping Ash and Eiji safe really hadn't worked at all. If anyone got hurt because of him...

Abruptly, Nesbin hit the brakes. The road was washed out. To the left of the road they'd been on was a large river, all swollen from the flooding. The river made a sharp turn and had crossed the road. Obviously, there had once been a bridge over the river, but it was gone. Undoubtedly, washed away by the flood. At that moment, there was no road in front of them, just rushing water behind an orange-painted barricade to keep people from driving into the river.

Nesbin's hands tightened on the steering wheel. She turned the car around so that it was facing Max's oncoming truck. "I'm not giving you up. If I can't have you..." She stomped hard on the accelerator and the car took off with a lurch, barreling straight at Max's truck. Max's truck with everyone in it.

She was going to ram the truck.

She was going to kill everyone.

Shunichi blinked, only once, before he grabbed the steering wheel and, ignoring Nesbin's surprised shout, yanked. They went off the road and flew in the air for only a moment before they went down and hit the river. The impact was so fearsome that Shunichi was unable to hold onto the steering wheel and when he released it, he jerked back and hit his head on the window. His world went dark even as he heard Nesbin yelling and felt water begin to rise around his knees.

Water in the car. Water. Rising fast. It was cold.

Shunichi was able to open his eyes long enough to see Nesbin struggling with her door and he smiled, completely satisfied that his friends were safe. Nesbin got the door open and water rushed in at a terrifying speed. Nesbin's yelling was drowned out and then Shunichi couldn't breathe.

**To be continued...**


	11. Confessions

**Chapter 11: Confessions**

**Ash-**

There was horrified silence in the cab of the truck when the car Ibe-san was in veered sharply to the side and plunged into the dark waters of the raging, flooded river. Ash felt his heart freeze. Shorter sat forward, as if he might jump through the window to get to the river. Eiji had the worst reaction. His breath was labored so badly that Ash could hear it. He saw Eiji's shoulders heaving. His eyes had gone very wide.

Max slammed on the breaks so hard that the tires squealed.

They all hurried out of the truck and Ash, without really thinking too much, started for the river. He had to get Ibe-san. He HAD to. But a strong hand grabbed his arm and swung him around. Max. "Let me go!" Ash fought to get away from Max, but, of course, it was no good. Ash was strong and fast, he knew, but Max was far stronger. Ash could outfight him, he had no doubt, but he didn't want to hurt Max.

Max opened his mouth to say something, but before he could make a noise, Eiji ran to the edge of the road and looked down at where the car had sunk and then, without any further warning at all, he dove in. He surfaced for a moment, then started to be carried downstream and went under, again.

Shorter started to swear. "No. Damn it, no!"

Eiji?

Eiji didn't surface.

Ash tried, again, to go to the water, but Max still hadn't released him. He was spun around so quickly that he nearly fell off his feet and found himself facing Max. "Let me go!" Ash snarled. "I have to get them!"

"No!" Max took hold of him by both arms. "You never go into flood waters! It's dangerous and you could be killed! Can you even swim?"

"No." For all the money Dino had spent on Ash - music lessons, art lessons, mathematics, science, computers, Blanca - Dino had never seen any reason to have Ash learn how to swim. "I don't care! I have to - "

Max pushed Ash towards Shorter. "You stay here and stay together. I won't lose all of you!" Max kicked off his shoes and shrugged off his shirt while he hurried to the water. "Stay on land!" Max shouted over his shoulder. "I will find them!" Then he was waist deep in the water and, without any warning, went under.

Ash and Shorter stood together on the road, helpless. It was a troubling feeling. Neither of them was used to being helpless in any situation.

The rising sun made the water sparkle as it raced by them. Ash didn't realize he was shaking until Shorter put a hand on his shoulder.

"Dude," Shorter said, grimly. "I don't see them."

"They're fine."

"Ash..."

"No! They're fine. They have to be."

Several seconds drifted by and it felt like hours. Then, without warning, Eiji's head popped above the water. He gasped in a deep breath and Ash and Shorter ran to the water. Eiji had no trouble getting to the riverbank, but Ash and Shorter had rushed in, knee-deep, before Eiji could get to dry land. Each one took Eiji under an arm and hauled him out of the river.

"I couldn't get him!" Eiji wailed. "I saw Ibe-san and I couldn't get him. The door wouldn't open and he's still down there. I couldn't get him. I gotta go back!" Eiji turned and started back for the river, but both Ash and Shorter grabbed hold of him and refused to let go. It did take both of them. Ash sometimes forgot that Eiji was an athlete and was a lot stronger than he looked. Eiji struggled against them. "Let me go. He's drowning! Let me go!"

"Hey, hey!" Shorter drew Eiji in for a hug and held him for a moment. "Max went in. He'll get Ibe-san."

Ash nodded, furiously. "Yeah. He's a marine, like Griff. Marines rescue people all the time; it's what they do."

When Eiji finally stopped fighting, he looked at Ash with tear-filled eyes. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. Marines are heroes and they get trained for this sort of thing. Max is real strong, too. I'm sure it'll be alright." And he looked out at the water and hoped he wasn't lying.

Several tense moments dragged by. Ash kept a hold of Eiji's arm. Shorter started to shifted uneasily from side-to-side. Then, Shorter pulled his sunglasses down and squinted down river. "There!" He jabbed a finger out and started to run in that direction. A quick glance let Ash see what Shorter had seen and he, along with Eiji, followed Shorter. Red. A faint shock of red among the grasses at the river's edge.

Charlotte Nesbin had red hair and it was her they found, face-down in the grass. Her skin was gray with death. She was dead. Ash pressed his fingers against where her pulse should have been just to be certain, but she was definitely dead. Drowned.

A pitiful whine, almost a whimper, made Ash look over at Eiji. His distress was painfully obvious. "Hey," Ash stood up and moved closer to Eiji. "She deserved what she got."

"But..."

Shorter interrupted with, "If she got washed down stream, then maybe Max and Ibe did, too."

They started to look and then to yell for the missing men. They shouted as loudly as they could. Eiji kept his eyes on the water. After a time, all three boys went quiet. The river kept running. Ash had seen so many people in his life die, people who were important to him. To lose two more... surely he should be used to pain, after losing so many people. He wasn't. The pain was as fresh and sharp as it had been that very first time he'd lost someone. His heart hurt. He felt like he was bleeding inside. Eiji reached up and grabbed handfuls of his hair and started to pull even as he let out another pitiful whine. Shorter took Eiji's hands away from his hair and hugged him, then reached out and drew Ash in for a one-armed hug.

"I should have gone in," Ash said the words so softly, it was nearly a whisper. "I should have gone instead of Max."

"You can't swim," Shorter said, firmly. "Max was right - you'd have drowned, too."

Ash was suddenly very grateful for Shorter's arm around him. He needed someone to lean on but hated himself for needing it and he should have gone after Ibe-san! Max didn't have to die. Maybe Ash could have gotten Ibe-san, maybe if he'd gone in with Max, they would have been able to save Ibe-san. Maybe... maybe...

Max burst out of the water, gasping for air, and he hauled Ibe-san, unconscious, with him. There was a great, joyful cry from the boys and they all rushed into the water to help Max to dry land. Eiji and Ash took Ibe-san from Max while Shorter, better able to handle Max's weight, lend him a hand. Max could hardly talk, he was so out of breath, but Ibe-san was unconscious, pale and cold.

They laid Ibe-san on the grass and Ash nudged Eiji out of the way as he checked Ibe-san's breathing and pulse. _'Blanca,' _Ash thought, reverently. _'Thank you for the first aid lessons I thought were stupid.'_ He started CPR and Max, without hesitation, began chest compressions. On and on that went. Eiji, sitting on his knees near Ibe-san's head, whispered a prayer. Shorter had his fists clenched and looked like he wanted to hit someone.

Ibe-san jerked and suddenly coughed up water. He gasped and coughed and shuddered. His arms and legs started to flail around, as if he thought he were still underwater and struggled for air. Then he blinked and looked around with bloodshot eyes. "Wha... what?"

Eiji burst into tears and threw his arms around Ibe-san's shoulders. "I thought you were dead!" Then he broke into Japanese and Ash didn't know what he was saying until Ibe-san calmed Eiji enough for Eiji to remember his English.

Ibe-san looked all around and suddenly smiled, looking more tired than anyone should ever have to be. "You're safe. I was so worried."

"Come on, come on." Shorter pulled Ibe-san up and they all went back to the truck and sat on the grass. "You guys gotta get dried off or someone's gonna get sick, again."

"Take off your wet stuff," Ash said. "Shorter's right - you need to get dry."

Ibe-san and Eiji, soaked to the skin from the dip in the river, stripped off their shirts and socks and shoes. While Shorter helped to collect the wet clothes and lay them out on the grass for the sun to help dry them, Ash fetched blankets from the back of the truck and handed them out for everyone to get wrapped up in. For a time, all was quiet as they sat together in the grass. Ash was just happy everyone was together. He didn't say it, of course, but nearly losing Ibe-san had been a jolt. Ash did not make a habit of getting close to people - that sort of thing only led to trouble - but he had grown used to his little group and to lose any of them would have been as painful as losing a limb.

With all the ways out of the town flooded, the road was deserted and they were able to take their time and rest without disturbance.

"We have to tell the police." Ash interrupted the peace, but couldn't regret it. It had be done. "If we try to hide what happened and someone finds the body, then we'll be in real trouble. Unless we want to hide the body."

Shorter looked like he was considering that option, but everyone else looked a little green.

"So," Ibe-san hesitantly asked, "You think we should tell the truth? About everything?"

"Well, no. Not_ EVERYTHING_." Of course Ash wouldn't tell all the truth. "But if we can't get out of town before her body's found and if someone in the hospital saw you go off with her - and with so many people around, someone would have seen - then it'll make us look real bad if we just keep quiet. So, we tell the truth now and avoid problems later."

"Are you sure?" Eiji asked. He'd stuck close to Ibe-san since he'd been pulled out of the river and it didn't seem as if he would stop any time soon.

"It's the best bet. Max's friend gave us a good cover story so all we have to do is say that the weird woman came into my hospital room when Ibe-san was there and threatened to hurt us unless he went with her. He did and the rest of us followed. When it looked like she'd cause a car accident with us, Ibe-san tried to get her off the road and they ended up in the river. She drowned and Max got Ibe-san out. It's all the truth. There is no lie to uncover. She was just some crazy woman who showed up out of nowhere."

Everyone went quiet, thinking.

"He's right." Shorter crossed his arms and leaned back against the truck. "We already spoke to the cops about the explosion at the motel and Max's friend spoke to them. They know us and why we're in town. If we try to lie at this point, it's going to complicate things. We can't just leave, yet - the roads are still all flooded. We'll have to wait a day or so until we can get on the road and until then we need the cops to believe us."

Max nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, it's a good plan. Keep things simple and we leave as soon as we can. We've just got to keep calm. Shunichi," Max looked at Ibe-san. "Think you can do this? You tell anyone who asks that we've run into her a time or two since we left New York and that she found you here. If we stick with the truth, then we can't mess up. The story only has to be convincing for long enough for the flood waters to go down."

Ibe-san, who had been very quiet since waking up from his rescue turned his head to look to where Charlotte Nesbin's body still lay on the muddy riverside. He turned away. "Yes. Yes, I can do it. I won't put us in anymore danger. Excuse me. I'm sorry, excuse me, please." He abruptly stood up from where he'd been sitting and walked away. He didn't seem to have a destination in mind, just wandered off, further away from the river.

It didn't take Ash more than a half a moment to realize what the problem was. When Eiji started to go after Ibe-san, Ash caught his hand and whispered, "Let me talk to him, alright? Stay here." So he left Eiji with Shorter and Max and went to find Ibe-san.

Ibe-san had not gone far, only to the back of the truck where Ash found him sitting on the tailgate. He looked utterly miserable, as if he were wishing he had died in the river, and Ash wouldn't have that. He sat next to Ibe-san. Ash bit his lip, wondering if he ought to distract Ibe-san's thoughts. He didn't like talking about his own problems so the idea that other people did was always a bit odd, but he had heard it helped people. He finally settled on saying, "You alright?"

Ibe-san jumped a little at Ash's voice, as if he hadn't realized he had company, but smiled. It wasn't a very bright smile. "Yes. I will be fine. And you? You look much better."

"I'm okay. Healthy as a horse."

"I'm glad." He reached over and took Ash's hand to give it a gentle squeeze. "We were all so very worried about you. Ash, I know life hasn't been kind, but I hope you will always remember that you are an important person to us. Everyone here values you. You are precious."

Ash blushed. He turned his face away as he had absolutely no idea what to say to something like that. It wasn't often that he was at a loss for words.

"I killed her."

Ash looked back at Ibe-san at the confession, Ibe-san's voice was as lifeless as a robot's. He stared at the trees.

"She's dead and it's my fault."

Ash said, "Yeah." It was the truth, after all. They sat quietly for a time. Ash knew he should say something, but couldn't quite think of the right thing. Giving comfort wasn't a skill he'd ever needed to develop.

"I should have thought of some other way."

Ash frowned. "You're not feeling guilty, are you? She'd have killed you and all us, given half-a-chance."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe she wouldn't have killed me or anyone else. Maybe driving the car at our truck was just a bluff." Ibe-san gave a little sigh and lowered his eyes. "I chose to put the car in the river because I feared that if I didn't, she would crash into the truck and my friends would be killed. It was a choice and I made it and I will live with that choice, but I can't help but think that I should have found another way to end the situation. If I'd said the right thing or maybe if I hadn't said something. Did I encourage her somehow?"

"Ibe-san," Ash lowered his voice into a growl that he knew from experience made people listen. It worked and Ibe-san looked sharply at Ash. "I told you before - you didn't do anything that justifies her treating you like that. She was completely off her rocker and you couldn't change that. You didn't ask for her to get all obsessed with you, after all."

Ibe-san shook his head. "I still don't understand that. Why me? I never spoke to her. I never even saw her before we went to Max's hideout. So, why me?"

Ash shrugged. "Who knows?"

"But... I'm nothing. I'm just ordinary. I thought people got obsessed with very attractive people."

"Well, they say 'Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder.' I guess she saw something in you that you don't. And she was nuts so no one can ever really know what was going through her head. She was so nuts that she wasn't going to stop until someone stopped her. If you hadn't, I would have."

Ibe-san frowned. "What?"

"If you hadn't killed her, I would have. If I hadn't been so sick, I'd have killed her in the hospital when she threatened us and took you." How much of a monster did that make him that he could say something so easily, so honestly? Ash pushed the self-hatred away. He didn't want to deal with it. "You're a nice guy." Ash looked directly at Ibe-san. "You shouldn't feel bad because you had to do something you didn't want to do. You're not a bad person. I should know."

Ibe-san gave Ash a suspicious look. "You know you're not a bad person, don't you?"

"Sure I am. That's why you should believe me when I say you're good. I know what bad is because I am."

"What? No. No, Ash you're not bad."

Ash frowned at Ibe-san. His gut turned. "But.. you know. You were there and you saw. You saw how bad I am."

Ibe-san looked honestly confused. "Saw what?"

It had never occurred to Ash that Ibe-san didn't understand. He wanted Ibe-san to understand and to feel better, but he hadn't actually wanted to talk about it. It was hard to even think about. "I..." Ash hesitated. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but they froze there. A tiny voice whispered that if he confessed, he might feel less burdened about what he'd done to Eiji. Not that he deserve to feel less burdened. "I've done awful things, Ibe-san. I'm really a terrible person. I've killed people. I'll probably do it, again. I steal. I lie all the time. I.." Ash hesitated, his horror of what he'd done almost swamping him before he steeled himself and confessed, "I kissed Eiji."

Ash had been sent to prison for a crime he hadn't committed and Ibe-san and Eiji had been kind enough to visit him for no better reason than he'd asked. He'd been more than a little stunned when they'd actually shown up with smiles and well-wishes. They'd clearly come just to cheer Ash up and that had given him such warm feelings that he was quite floored by the whole situation. It had made what he'd done even worse. The memory of that day plagued Ash. He'd never done anything like it before or since. He had kissed Eiji. Right there, in front of everyone, he'd grabbed Eiji and kissed him and grabbed his butt.

Ash felt sick just thinking about it. He was just as much of a monster as Marvin and Dino.

But, to Ash's shock, Ibe-san chuckled. Ibe-san shook his head and said, "Honestly, I don't think Ei-chan minded the kiss."

"What's that got to do with anything?" Ash felt himself start to get upset by Ibe-san's nonchalance about the whole thing and had to force himself to keep his voice low so no one would hear them. "Don't you get it? I kissed him without asking permission. I touched him." Again, Ash felt his stomach churn. "Remember what I told you back when your stalker found us before? Grabbing people without permission is wrong and perverted and gross. Blanca said so! And... and I did that to Eiji." Ash very suddenly felt like crying and feeling like that only made him more upset. He bit the inside of his cheek to calm himself down. "I like Eiji. I really like him. And I did something like that to him. He was so nice to me. He bandaged up my arm when Marvin hurt me. He put himself in danger to save me and my buddy Skipper. He came to sit with me in the hospital when I got hurt. All that and I still just grabbed him and..." Ash stopped and took a deep breath. He hadn't meant to say so much. He was supposed to be making Ibe-san feel better. So he pushed his emotions far back and put them in a little box where he wouldn't have to look at them. "So I know what a bad person is and you aren't one. You were protecting yourself and us. You're a good person. I'm a bad person."

"Ash," Ibe-san spoke quietly and waited until Ash turned to look at him before he said, "I know what happened at the prison and I know why you did it, why you kissed Ei-chan. Ei-chan tells me everything. You needed to give him a message to protect people who couldn't protect themselves - that doctor and nurse and your brother. Ei-chan was surprised at the time, but he understands your reasons. I can promise you that he isn't angry."

In Ash's estimation, that changed nothing at all. He hadn't asked permission. He'd just gone and done it to serve his own needs and how many times had he been grabbed and touched so someone else could serve their needs? He said nothing of that aloud because he felt certain Ibe-san would argue as he clearly didn't really understand the situation. Ash was smart; he knew he was smart. Why hadn't he been able to think of any other ideas other than kissing Eiji? He should have been able to think of something. Ash took a deep breath and gave his head a little shake before he stood up. He stuck his hands in his pockets. "We should go. If we take any longer to talk to the cops, they'll wonder what took us so long and get suspicious."

Ibe-san still didn't look happy, but he looked much less depressed than he had moments earlier. Ash would take that as a win. Ibe-san stood up and gave Ash a smile. "If you'll take advice from an old man - talk to Ei-chan about what happened at the prison. I think you owe that yourself and to him."

The prospect of a conversation with Eiji about the whole thing was terrifying. "I don't..."

"Just think about it. Doesn't have to be right now, but... sometime."

More to make Ibe-san happy than anything else, Ash gave a little nod. "I'll think about it. Say," Ash said as a thought ran across his mind. "What's up with Eiji's nose?"

"Eh? What are you talking about?"

"When we went to find you, he just sniffed the air and he was able to track you. What's up with that?"

Ibe-san stared at Ash and then laughed. "You're tired and still recovering from your fever. You were imagining things."

"What? No, I wasn't."

"Well, it's not as if Ei-chan is an animal, so you must have been imagining it. Let's go join the others and see if our clothes are dry enough to be worn."

**The End**

**I am planning a sequel to this story. Not sure when it will come out as I have another fic I would like to finish, first, but I do have plans for one. It will likely be called ****The Wildcat Child** **and it will be a crossover with ****Petshop of Horrors****.**


End file.
